


Aokaga Collection

by Light4life



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: AU, Birthday, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, i guess, idiot boyfriends being cute
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-21
Updated: 2015-09-13
Packaged: 2018-04-16 10:56:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4622730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Light4life/pseuds/Light4life
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a collection of the Aokaga fics I've posted on Tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Happy Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Okay so... I'll be posting some of the fics I've also posted on tumblr here (my tumblr is allweneedisaokaga).  
> I don't know how often I'll be updating, but I'll try to write new stuff quite frequently :)

Taiga was feeling a little disappointed, really.

Kuroko and the rest of his team only just left his apartment not ten minutes ago, and Taiga was supposed to feel elated because this year he got to spend his birthday with friends, opposed to hanging out alone like he had last year. He’d even gotten a few gifts, and Mitobe had been kind enough to bake him a cake.  
But, looking at his phone and seeing he had no missed calls or messages, the redhead couldn’t help but feel slightly melancholy. Because he had hoped he’d at least get a text message saying ‘happy b-day!’ from a certain someone. This “certain someone” being Aomine Daiki.

Taiga felt like smacking himself now, after just checking his phone for the umpteenth time.  
He was acting like a love-struck schoolgirl who was waiting for her first boyfriend to text her back, and he was getting increasingly irritated with himself. Even Kuroko had felt the need to ask him if there was a specific reason he kept checking his phone, and he’d had to lie something about expecting a call from his dad even though the man had already called in the morning.

There wasn’t even a tangible reason as to why Daiki should remember it was Taiga’s birthday. It wasn’t like they were exactly friends, more like random basketball buddies. They would sometimes call each other up for a game of one-on-one, but that was pretty much all interaction they had with each other.  
That and the few times Daiki had been to Taiga’s house with the rest of the Miracles.

And Taiga honestly couldn’t remember when simple admiration for the tan male had turned into a very persistent crush that just didn’t seem to go away no matter how hard Taiga tried to ignore his feelings. He threw his phone on the couch with a frustrated groan and slumped down next to it, resigned to watching TV for the rest of the evening, alone.

But just as he was about to reach for the TV remote, his doorbell rang.

Eyebrows raising higher towards his hairline, Taiga stood up and made his way to the door. Maybe one of his teammates had forgotten something when they left?  
What he wasn’t prepared to see, however, was one Aomine Daiki standing behind the door, a basketball tucked under one arm and the other hand holding a paper bag with ‘Maji Burger’ written on it.  
“Hey?”, Taiga said, surprised.  
“Yo”, the tan male answered and pushed past Taiga into the apartment before the redhead even had time to invite him in.

Daiki paused to take off his shoes and strutted into the kitchen like he owned the place, leaving Taiga standing alone by the door, confused and irked at his behavior. What he’d never admit even to himself was the way his heartrate picked up just slightly and that a warm, happy feeling spread through his chest at the thought of Daiki having remembered his birthday after all.  
“Kagami!”, Daiki’s voice bellowed from the kitchen a moment later, snapping Taiga out of his stupor. He closed the door and also went into the kitchen.  
“What?”, he asked belatedly.

“I bought us food”, Daiki said, pointing at the paper bag containing the treats from Maji, “Let’s eat before it gets cold”  
Taiga sat down, Daiki following suit a moment later.  
“What would you have done if I had already eaten, dumbass?”, the redhead asked, amused with the fact that Daiki had thought it best to just bring him food as a gift.

Daiki snorted, glancing up at Taiga with an unimpressed expression.  
“Oh please, like that would’ve stopped you from wolfing down at least a few burgers”, the tan teenager said. And, yeah, Taiga had to admit he did have a point there.  
After that brief exchange an oddly peaceful silence befell them, both contently munching on their hamburgers. Daiki was watching the redhead from the corner of his eye, not as discreetly as he probably thought he was. Taiga felt a blush starting to creep up on his cheeks, wondering why the other teen felt so inclined to stare at him.  
“Let’s go out for a one-on-one”, Daiki suddenly said, “After we finish eating”

The sudden words that broke the previously comfortable silence startled Taiga, his eyes snapping up to meet Daiki’s dark blue ones.  
“Oh, yeah”, Taiga then grinned, the words finally registering to him.  
He always loved playing against Daiki, each time was different but always just as exhilarating.  
The redhead reckoned he had fallen for Daiki’s style of playing, at first. He knew just how much of an amazing and at the same time terrifying player Daiki was. Since the first time he had played against the ace of Generation of Miracles, Taiga had admired Daiki’s style.

Of course it had its own flaws, but the sheer power and talent made up for those things. Taiga sometimes worried that he wouldn’t be enough to keep Daiki interested, in the long run. He hadn’t yet beaten Daiki in a one-on-one, and he was afraid the tan male would get bored of playing with him soon.  
But for now he was just glad, content with the fact that Daiki had shown up on his doorstep and asked him to play.  
“You don’t need to look so happy about getting to play with me”, Daiki chuckled, already finished with his burgers and now openly looking at Taiga, “You must really enjoy my company”  
To his horrification the redhead realized he had been grinning to himself like a lunatic, and glared at the younger male.

“Shut up”, he said, “It’s just been too long since I’ve played against anyone but Kuroko”  
Daiki made a clicking sound with his tongue, smirking at Taiga, “Sure, keep telling yourself that”  
Taiga spluttered a little, chomping down on his last burger instead of answering the blue haired moron.  
He suddenly wondered how he ever let himself fall for a guy with an ego big enough to fill the outer space. That’s a question he would never find an answer for.

As he finished his burger, Daiki surprised him by standing up and cleaning up after them instead of letting Taiga do it. The redhead stared at his rival’s back, jaw slackening just a little.  
Daiki didn’t strike him as a person to be considerate of things like this.  
“Before we go, I’ve got something else for you”, the tan teen said, turning to look at Taiga again.  
“What?”, Taiga asked, “You didn’t need to-“  
“Shut up”, Daiki cut him off with a scowl forming on his face, “And stand up”  
Taiga complied, puzzled by Daiki’s behavior. The guy almost looked like he was nervous, clenching his hands in loose fists and licking his lips while staring at the redhead in front of him.

Before Taiga could say anything about it, a tan hand suddenly grabbed him by the hips and pulled him closer. Red eyes widened as he realized Daiki was almost uncomfortably close to him.  
He brought his hands up to Daiki’s shoulders to push him away, but something soft against his lips halted the movement.

His body froze, his mind short-circuited for a moment before going into overdrive. Daiki was kissing him. As in, Aomine Daiki’s lips were touching his lips and moving against him and- holy shit was that a tongue? Indeed, Daiki had tried to coax Taiga into kissing him back by flicking his tongue against the redhead’s lips, but Taiga stubbornly stayed frozen.  
The tan male was starting to think he had looked too much into this, and that Satsuki and Tetsu had been wrong about Taiga liking him. That was, until Taiga finally got over his initial shock and practically melted in Daiki’s arms, his arms looping around the slightly taller one’s neck and lips finally starting to move against the ones pressed on them.

Daiki smiled into the kiss and pulled back, stepping away from Taiga just slightly without letting go of him.  
“How did you-?”, Taiga mumbled, not daring to either finish that sentence or look at Daiki.  
“You weren’t exactly being subtle, Bakagami”, Daiki laughed, “And Tetsu might’ve told me. After he figured I like you too”

And the only thing Taiga picked up from that was ‘I like you too’, which made him snap his gaze up to stare at the boy in front of him.  
“Really?”

He looked so hopeful Daiki couldn’t help but roll his eyes.  
“You think I would’ve kissed you otherwise?”, he cocked an eyebrow and leaned in for another kiss.

“Happy birthday, idiot”, was mumbled right before their lips connected again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Kudos and comments are always appreciated! Thank you for reading :)


	2. Idiots, that is love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daiki decided he'd move away to America with Taiga.

It had been a week. A week of Taiga ignoring his messages, his calls, a week of Taiga avoiding him all together.  
Daiki sighed and looked up from his phone. The gym hall of Touou was currently filled with basketball players, practicing under the surveillance of their captain, Sakurai Ryo, who had become so much more confident since their first year. 

Daiki knew he was supposed to be practicing too, but… what a drag, really. It’s not like he needed to practice so much anyway.  
He had promised Sakurai he would attend most of their practice, but as long as he was present Sakurai let him do whatever he pleased. Which most often consisted of him reading the newest Mai-chan magazine or taking a nap, or watching from the sidelines as the others went through a brutal training. Sometimes he would join them, sometimes he would only do the exercises he liked.  
‘Damn it Taiga’, he thought as he once more dialed the redhead’s number but the man didn’t pick up. 

One week ago they had had their first real fight. A huge fight, with both of them screaming at each other, throwing whatever they could get their hands on, ending with Daiki storming out and slamming the front door shut. He did realize he had been more than a little immature about the whole thing, but to his comfort Taiga hadn’t been much better off. Daiki sighed again as he thought of the reason they had been fighting for in the first place. 

Taiga was moving back to America.

He had invited Daiki over one night to tell him that he had gotten a good offer from a university in New York, and he was going to accept it. He would move to New York at the end of the summer.  
Taiga had also asked Daiki to come with him. 

Daiki, being the emotionally constipated little shit he was, had not reacted well to the news.  
And, Taiga being the hotheaded idiot he was, had taken the bait and so a fight ensued. Neither of them thought to sit down and talk it through, the thought never even crossed Daiki’s mind until he was halfway home already and calmed down enough to think straight. 

“Fuck it”, he proclaimed to himself, standing up, “Ryo, I’m leaving”  
Sakurai turned around with a frown on his face. He looked stern, likely about to tell Daiki to stay until the practice was over. Daiki would’ve never thought the guy could be such a good captain.  
He had been a little angry at not being chosen as the captain, to tell the truth, but then he realized it would’ve required him to attend practice every time and he was suddenly glad he was not chosen. He also saw how much other stuff Taiga (who was now the captain of Seirin) had to do, and he realized he would’ve made a terrible captain for the Touou team.  
“Aomine-kun”, Sakurai started, but Daiki cut him off, “Sorry, I’ve got something really important to do today”  
Maybe it was something in his voice, or the air of urgency he carried, but Sakurai just nodded without protesting further, “Fine”  
“Thanks”, Daiki said and headed off to the locker room.

\---------------------------------------------

Meanwhile in Seirin Taiga was overseeing the practice of his own team.  
The first and second years were doing drills, while the third years had a half-court practice match amongst themselves. Coach Riko had continued training them whenever she could, but more often than not she sent Taiga instructions via e-mail and Taiga made sure everyone was doing what they were told.  
Today, however, the red haired power-forward was just absent mindedly staring at his teammates. 

He felt bad for ignoring Daiki’s calls and messages like that, but he was still a little offended at how the other teen had reacted to the news of him moving away.  
Taiga knew it was a shock for the tan male, but he could’ve been a bit more mature about it. Though, he hadn’t been any more mature himself. He also felt embarrassed by some of the things he had said to Daiki, and he knew he should apologize the next time they met. Taiga didn’t know when that would be though. He hadn’t meant to avoid Daiki for this long, and now he was a little scared to see the other, to tell the truth. He was scared of what would happen to them.  
If Daiki didn’t want to go to America, which was understandable, Taiga didn’t think they could hold a long-distance relationship for longer than a few years at most. 

Taiga loved Daiki. He knew that, but it wouldn’t be enough if there was half a world between them.  
Suddenly his eyes caught familiar blue ones in the doorway of the gym, and he had to take a moment to ensure he wasn’t hallucinating. As he looked around and saw others turning to look at Daiki too, he decided that no, he was not hallucinating. 

Taiga walked over to the slightly taller male, feeling nervous.  
“What’re you doing here?”, he asked.  
“Came to see you”, Daiki answered, “I need to talk to you about something”  
“It couldn’t have waited until the end of practice?”, Taiga asked, but Daiki shook his head a little and Taiga was starting to feel worried.  
The others were taking a break, drinking from their bottles or talking with each other, but in reality they were all staring at the two of them intently. 

Because, holy shit their captain was talking to the ace of Touou, Aomine Daiki. They were supposed to be sworn rivals or whatever, and now they were talking – civilly – to each other in Seirin’s gym hall. 

“And you didn’t think calling first might be a good idea?”, the redhead asked then, raising an eyebrow.  
“Well yeah, I did call at least twenty times”, Daiki said, “But it would help a great deal if you actually, you know, answered the phone”  
Taiga cringed, looking a little embarrassed, “Sorry”  
Now the others were openly staring at them, the first and second years completely stupefied while the third years were chuckling to themselves.  
“Anyway, I came to ask when exactly will you be leaving? To America, I mean”, Daiki asked and Taiga felt panic creep up on him. So this was it? Daiki was not going with him. 

But the next thing Daiki said made his heart stop.  
“I need to know so I can buy a plane ticket”

Taiga blinked once.  
Twice. 

“Holy shit”, he breathed out, watching Daiki with wide eyes as the man broke into a grin.  
Taiga’s heart started thumping against his chest wildly, and he felt slightly dizzy with relief and joy and a few unrecognizable feelings swelling up in him.  
“Are you saying-? Oh fuck, Daiki”, Taiga pulled his boyfriend into a crushing hug because he didn’t know what else to do.  
Daiki laughed and hugged the other man back.  
“Yeah, yeah, I’m moving to America with you”, he said. There was an eerie silence in the gym hall, the Taiga’s other teammates watching the interaction with eyes wide as plates and mouths hanging open. 

Tetsuya was smiling, watching his two best friends fondly.  
“There’s one problem though”, Daiki said then. Taiga raised his head to look at the man questionably, but did not let go of him. His eyes were teary, and Daiki almost leaned down to kiss the small drops off of the corner of Taiga’s eyes, but then he remembered where they were.  
“I can’t speak English to save my life”, the tan male continued with a smile.  
Taiga let out a choked laugh.

“ _I’ll teach you, idiot_ ”, he said in English, making Daiki cock his head to his left.  
“I have no idea what you just said, but sounds like a plan”, he answered. A few of the third years along with Taiga laughed.  
“I said: I’ll teach you”, Taiga translated the sentence for his boyfriend, “You idiot”  
Daiki huffed, “Oi, who’s the idiot here?”

Taiga didn’t answer, he just buried his face into Daiki’s neck and refused to let go of the man.  
Daiki in turn looked over Taiga’s shoulder at Tetsuya and said, “I guess I’ll just… take him home?”  
The pale teen nodded his approval, “I do not think Kagami-kun can focus on practice anymore today”  
Furihata handed Taiga’s bag to Daiki, who led the man still clinging to him out of the gym hall.  
Just before he left, he heard a second year player say to someone, “Now that, my friend, is game”  
It was Tetsuya’s voice than answered, “Idiots. That is love”

And he would’ve been embarrassed if it hadn’t been so annoyingly, completely true.  
He was one hundred percent in love with Kagami Taiga.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of my very first fics so be nice people x) Hope you enjoyed it!


	3. Problem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aomine Daiki had a problem. 
> 
> He had bought a new apartment just weeks ago close to his newly acquired work place, and was now settling in. This, however, was not the problem. Not at all. He loved his new apartment, it was spacey, but not too big for him and with some help from Satsuki he had even managed to make it quite cozy. 
> 
> The problem was: his next-door neighbor wouldn’t _stop being nice to him._

Aomine Daiki had a problem. 

He had bought a new apartment just weeks ago close to his newly acquired work place, and was now settling in. This, however, was not the problem. Not at all. He loved his new apartment, it was spacey, but not too big for him and with some help from Satsuki he had even managed to make it quite cozy. 

The problem was: his next-door neighbor wouldn’t _stop being nice to him._

While this might sound like it shouldn’t be a problem, it was for him. Because he had no idea how to act around his neighbor – his very, extremely attractive neighbor.   
The first time Daiki had set eyes on the redhead he had immediately been stunned by the sheer sex appeal that just oozed from the other man, even if the said person seemed to be totally ignorant of it himself. 

Daiki had been moving his stuff inside the apartment with the help of Kise and a reluctant, muttering Midorima when a guy with shocking red hair, wild, equally red eyes and weird-as-fuck eyebrows had walked up to Daiki and introduced himself as Kagami Taiga. He had asked if the three men needed any help with moving the boxes inside and Daiki, not being one to turn down a helping hand if it meant he needed to do less work, had accepted the offer.   
His decision had, however, turned out to backfire on him. Instead of getting the work done quicker, it had taken them a great deal of time to get everything inside due to Daiki sometimes forgetting himself and just stopping to stare at Taiga. 

The way his muscles rippled when he lifted a box, or the way his hips swayed when he walked.   
Daiki had even stumbled on a stair and sprawled the contents of the box he was carrying all over the hallway, because he had been too busy staring at Taiga’s ass.   
Instead of getting frustrated, Taiga had grinned at him – a grin that seemed to light up his features and made him all the more handsome, damn it – and set down his box in order to help Daiki gather his belongings from the floor. 

Then, when Daiki had somehow managed to grunt out a ‘thank you for helping’ when they were done, Taiga had invited them over for coffee and some snacks, saying that they must be quite hungry after lifting boxes all day. Daiki had wanted to decline, he really had, but Kise had beat him to it and agreed for them. The blond seemed to have taken an interest in the redhead, easily conversing with him nonstop. 

Turns out that by ‘some snacks’ Taiga had meant he was going to cook dinner for them.   
And Daiki really wanted to just up and leave, tell the guy he was busy or something, but damn did the food look good. It smelled even better, and when Daiki tasted it, he thought he must be in heaven.   
Was it even legal to enjoy food that much?

The bluenette had gotten used to eating frozen pizza or canned food since he moved to live on his own, because he couldn’t cook for shit and sometimes when Satsuki turned up to bring something for him, he had to throw it out because there was no way he was eating something that might poison him. 

Daiki’s only consolation was that Midorima seemed to be just as baffled by the redhead’s behavior as he was. 

\---------------------------------------

A few days later, when Daiki was happily on his way to forgetting the puzzling first meeting with his neighbor, he was returning home from work totally exhausted. He groaned when he realized he still needed to go shopping – he didn’t have any food in the apartment apart from dry bread and expired milk – but as he was about to open the door to his new home, the door to his left opened and out walked none else but Kagami Taiga. 

“Hey”, the redhead said with a smile, and Daiki had half a mind to tell him he had no right going around looking so happy.   
Realizing the other male was still waiting for an answer, Daiki greeted him instead.   
“So, uh…”, Taiga scratched his neck, not meeting Daiki’s eyes, “I actually have something for you”  
The tan male raised an eyebrow. What could Taiga possibly have for him?  
“Oh?”, he said, not knowing what was the appropriate reaction to such a statement. 

“Yeah, if you could just wait a sec?”, Taiga said and smiled again a little sheepishly, “I’ll go get it”  
Daiki sighed but nodded, setting down his bag and leaning on the doorframe as Taiga quickly ducked back into his own apartment. A moment later he re-emerged with something that looked like a bowl in his hands. 

He handed it over to Daiki, who looked at him with his head tilted in confusion.   
“I- ah, I noticed you seemed to like the food I made the other day and, you know, I thought that maybe you hadn’t yet gone shopping so I thought I’d make something for you”, Taiga said.  
His cheeks were tinted with a light blush and if that wasn’t the cutest thing Daiki had seen in a long time, he didn’t know what was.   
Also, thinking a 6 foot something, muscled giant was cute should’ve been the weirdest thing, but there literally was no other word for how the redhead looked at the moment.   
“Thanks?”, Daiki said, surprised. He had no idea how to handle a nice neighbor. 

An asshole he could’ve handled, but this guy just made him confused. 

Wait, didn’t Satsuki always tell him that if someone did something like this for him, he was supposed to do something nice in return?  
Ah, damn. His attitude might’ve improved significantly since high school, but he was still sailing on foreign waters when it came to things like this.

“No problem”, Taiga grinned, and lord help him Daiki swore he could see the sparkles radiating from the man.   
They exchanged a few pleasantries, until Taiga said he should get going.   
Daiki was relieved, to be honest. He didn’t like the way his stomach was flipping as he spoke with the guy. 

Maybe he was coming down with a flu. 

\---------------------------------------

Yet another few days passed by without Daiki seeing Taiga around. He had washed the bowl that Taiga had given him earlier, and was now eyeing it with dreamy eyes.   
He had decided the redhead was actually an angel in human form, because there was no way anyone was able to cook such wonderful things.   
Daiki was currently debating whether he should go return the bowl now or not. What if Taiga wasn’t home? Or what if he had someone over? It would be awkward. 

In the end he decided he should go return it anyway. 

As he stood there in front of Taiga’s apartment, about to ring the doorbell, he suddenly realized he had no idea what to say. But before he could abort the movement, his finger had already pressed on the doorbell and after a moment he heard some shuffling inside.   
Daiki didn’t have much time to panic (why was he even panicking in the first place?) before Taiga appeared at the door, hair ruffled and clad in what appeared to be his pajama.   
Shit. He hadn’t realized how late it was already. 

“Oh, I hope I didn’t wake you up”, Daiki said hastily, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks. Taiga’s expression seemed to brighten just a little at the sight of Daiki, and he shook his head.  
“No, no you didn’t”, he said, making the tan male cringe because he was so obviously lying his ass off.  
“Sorry”, he said, feeling somewhat guilty at having woken the man up.   
Daiki offered the bowl to him and said, “I came to return this, actually. Thanks, it was delicious”  
Taiga reached for it with a smile on his face and Daiki wondered if it was permanently stuck on his lips. He had never seen the guy not smiling, except when he was outright grinning, which didn’t count as not smiling.

“Thanks”, Taiga said, raising a hand in front of his mouth to cover a yawn.   
“I’ll let you go to sleep now”, Daiki said, and couldn’t resist the small smile that tugged at his lips, “But seriously, thanks. I appreciate it”  
“Really, it was no problem”, the redhead said, but the grin on his face told Daiki all about just how pleased he was by Daiki having liked his food.   
“Good night”, the bluenette said and turned to go back inside. He heard Taiga say ‘good night’ back to him softly, and then he heard the door click shut. 

And Daiki couldn’t keep a smile off his face for the rest of the evening. 

\---------------------------------------

After that particular incident Taiga had started showing up everywhere. 

Daiki had been talking about painting the walls of one of the rooms (because who the fuck had thought it was a good idea to paint a room in an ugly orange and green?) on the phone with Kise, complaining about how he didn’t have time to do it by himself.   
When the phone call ended, Taiga had popped out of nowhere and said that he couldn’t help hearing Daiki’s conversation with Kise and he would be more than happy to help. So, the next weekend Taiga had showed up at noon and they had indeed painted the room’s walls again. 

Then there had been that incident with Nigou.

Daiki had promised Tetsu to take care of the dog for a few days while Tetsu and Satsuki were out of town.   
He had taken the dog out one evening, not taking Nigou’s leash with him since the little ball of fur was actually quite obedient.   
Nigou had, however, chosen that evening to run off (resulting in a mad chase around the block) and suddenly Daiki had heard a horrified squeak from around the corner, followed by Nigou’s barking.   
He cursed and jogged to where he assumed Nigou was. 

Much to his surprise, he didn’t only find Nigou there. Taiga was frozen in place, staring at Nigou, his expression betraying pure fear for the small animal. Nigou jumped forward, making Taiga rear back with a terrified screech. Daiki had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing out loud, because who would’ve thought Taiga was afraid of dogs, of all things?  
“Don’t just stand there!”, Taiga finally gasped out, “Take that beast of yours away from me”  
This time Daiki couldn’t help but snort a little, and he then corrected Taiga, “Not my dog”

He did walk over to Nigou and pick him up anyway. Taiga seemed to relax when Nigou was in Daiki’s arms, apparently he felt like the dog couldn’t harm him now that its’ movements were restricted.  
“Going home?”, Daiki asked, still trying to suppress an amused smirk. Taiga nodded and glared at him a little.   
“I’ll walk with you”, the tan male said, holding Nigou securely in his arms and fell in step with Taiga.   
He couldn’t help but snicker at how Taiga seemed to flinch just a little every time Nigou made the tiniest of noises, but ended up promising Taiga that he’d protect him from the ‘vicious beast’ (as Taiga called Nigou). Later on he realized how cliché that sounded, and couldn’t stop the blush creeping up on his face. 

Later that week they had a power cut because of a storm, and not one hour into it Daiki heard someone outside his door.   
For some reason he already knew just who it was before he even opened the door, and his intuition was right. It was Taiga.   
With candles and matches. 

“I got these in case you didn’t have any”, the redhead stuck out his hand and gave the items he was holding to Daiki. The tan male wanted to sigh in exasperation, because… really?   
It wasn’t even dark! Why would he need these?  
“Thanks”, he said instead. He was starting to feel like the only thing that came out of his mouth these days was some kind of a variation of ‘thank you’.   
Taiga stood there for a moment, biting his lower lip while Daiki tried to come up with something to say.

“You wanna come in?”, he finally asked. The smile Taiga sent his way was near blinding.  
When Taiga left, Daiki picked up his cell phone and called Satsuki. Because god damn he needed help with coming up with something he could do for Taiga in return. 

After that there was the ‘get-together’ thing. 

Taiga had knocked on Daiki’s door one evening, an excited smile adorning his lips, and invited him over the next weekend for a get-together with the other neighbors.   
“It’ll be nice”, he said, “You’ll get to meet them and maybe make some new friends”  
Taiga had babbled on and on about it, and Daiki had agreed simply because the redhead just seemed so truly excited. A little like a child on Christmas.   
“Ah, maybe you can bring someone with you too”, Taiga had then said, “A girlfriend, perhaps?”  
“I don’t have a girlfriend”, Daiki had automatically answered, but missed the way Taiga seemed to be a little too pleased with himself afterwards. 

Taiga had then said that maybe Daiki should bring Kise, as it seemed the blond male was around quite often and that way Taiga wouldn’t be the only one Daiki knew at the gathering.   
For the rest of the day Daiki couldn’t pinpoint exactly what made him so irritated about the fact that Taiga had been so eager to meet Kise again. 

And then a day after the get-together (which had been more fun than Daiki cared to admit), lo and behold, Daiki had ran into Taiga at a street court near their apartment complex.   
Taiga had been there, shooting hoops by himself and Daiki’s heart did something weird in his chest when he noticed how completely happy Taiga looked. He walked closer to the other man, spinning his own basketball on one finger.

“Yo”, he said and Taiga stumbled a little, snapping his gaze to Daiki.   
“Hey”, the redhead chuckled, picking up the ball he had dropped just a moment earlier, “What are you doing here?”  
“What’s it look like?”, Daiki asked, raising an eyebrow at the question.  
“You play?”, Taiga’s eyes lit up in delight, making Daiki feel unusually hot, “Play one-on-one with me”

Daiki agreed, honestly not expecting much from the other man. Even though he didn’t play professionally, he had still not lost to anyone (Akashi didn’t count, thank you very much) after elementary school. In middle school their team had been unbeatable, in high school he had won even against his old teammates – though he had to admit there had been a few very, very close games – and after that he had stopped playing.   
Of course he still played street basket, because there was no way he could ever give up basketball completely. 

So, the point was he didn’t expect a whole lot from the one-on-one with Taiga, but as he watched the redhead moments later, sailing through the air like he belonged there, he felt nothing but awe.   
In short, Taiga was amazing – not that Daiki would tell him as much.  
They played until dusk, so captivated in their game they didn’t even realize what time it was already.   
Daiki won, just barely, but he had never felt such a rush of adrenaline from a simple game before.  
“Damn”, Taiga panted, sitting down for a moment, “Next time I’m gonna beat your ass”

Daiki smirked, feeling just as exhausted as Taiga looked.  
“You can try, but the only one who can beat me is me”, he said smugly, making Taiga snort out a laugh.   
“What’s up with that?”, he asked, clearly amused. The corners of Daiki’s lips involuntarily pulled up into a smile as he remembered how he had used to use that phrase too many times back in high school.

Now he realized it was a little bit ridiculous. 

And then his brain caught up with the fact that Taiga had said ‘next time’. Which meant he was looking forward to playing Daiki again, and this made the tan male much happier than it should.   
They walked home together, arguing about whether or not Taiga would be able to beat Daiki in the future.

This all summed up to Daiki having a huge problem. 

Because he did realize he might’ve mentioned Taiga a few times too many when he was hanging out with Tetsu and Satsuki, or Kise and Midorima, but he didn’t realize it got to the point where the four of them decided it was best to team up on him, sit him down and spent half a day doing some coaxing and convincing that finally made him realize that yes, he did have a crush on Taiga.  
“What the fuck am I supposed to do now?”, he groaned and wanted to lock himself up in his bedroom for the rest of his life. 

“Dai-chan”, Satsuki sighed with a look that was something between exasperated and pitying, “How about you tell him honestly how you feel? Kagamin sounds like a person who wouldn’t take it badly”  
Daiki shot the idea down completely. There was no way he was going to just walk up to the man and confess like some high school girl.   
“Ask him out!”, Kise grinned in excitement, “To the movies, and a dinner! Oh, and flowers! Flowers are important, don’t forget to buy him flowers”  
Daiki looked at him for the longest time, eyebrow raised and a thoroughly unimpressed look on his face.   
“Flowers?”, he said then, “Honestly Kise?”

The blond male wilted a little under Daiki’s judging look, but said, “A little bit of romance wouldn’t hurt, you know”  
Before Daiki had time to answer, Midorima cut in.  
“How about you, in fact, just kiss him?”, he said, “If he kisses you back, good for you, and if he punches you, you can tell him you were temporarily insane and didn’t know what you were doing”  
“No, Aomine-kun, don’t do that”, was Tetsu’s only advice and Daiki finally kicked them out of his apartment. 

When he saw Taiga again he ended up taking Midorima’s advice anyway.

He and Taiga were playing a game of one-on-one again, it was something that happened quite often recently.  
They were taking a break, and Taiga was gloating about how he was winning for once. Daiki grumbled at him, but couldn’t tell it was because he was too distracted by the way Taiga’s body moved to fully concentrate on the game. His head was starting to hurt because of all the thinking he had been doing recently, and finally he sort of just decided to ‘fuck it’ and grabbed Taiga by the front of his shirt, crashing their lips together. 

For a moment nothing happened, they just stood there with their lips connected. Daiki was starting to panic, wracking his brain to come up with an excuse better than ‘sorry, I guess I’m temporarily insane’, but then Taiga slid his hand into Daiki’s hair and kissed him back.   
The kiss was fierce, at first. Tongues dancing together, hands roaming up and down each other’s bodies.   
Eventually they slowed down, parted for some air. Taiga chuckled and pressed a closemouthed kiss on Daiki’s lips.

They were both breathing heavily, up in each other’s personal space but neither of them wanted to step back.   
“So…”, Daiki said after a while, looking at Taiga, “How about a date next week?”  
Taiga laughed and kissed him again, and Daiki thought it was safe to assume his answer was yes.


	4. Room service

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was a request: "can I request a fic where aomine falls in love with the redhead guy who cleans his hotel room, so he always ask for room service and every time he gives him too much for a tip.", and this is what I came up with :) Enjoy!

Daiki sighed as he flopped down onto the surprisingly soft, queen sized bed.

After he had injured his knee and couldn’t play basketball professionally anymore, he had come back to Japan. The only problem was that he had yet to find a suitable apartment for himself.

So, for the time being, he was residing in a small but extremely comfortable hotel. Daiki had discussed it with the hotel management (which really just consisted of the hotel’s owners) and they promised it would be fine for him to stay as long as he’d like if he was able to afford it. Daiki had paid for the first two weeks already, and one of the owners, Riko Aida, had told him it would be easy to extend his stay if needed.

This particular hotel wasn’t exactly what he had had in mind at first, but now that he thought about it, he was happy with his choice. The hotel offered the services Daiki needed, such as laundry, dry cleaning, three meals a day and numerous amount of other things. They had effective and friendly service and even though the location was not desirable, it was easy enough to get to the train station whenever he needed to go somewhere.

The bluenette had come to the conclusion that this place suited him far better than one of those fancy hotels with all those ‘super important’ posh people around. Money was not a problem for him, but it always miffed Daiki when he had to pay unreasonable amounts of money per night for a room that wasn’t even all that great in reality. Besides, here he could relax a little. It was fine to go out into the lobby without wearing a freaking suit or something equally ridiculous.

(Also, there was a basketball court in the backyard, but that was absolutely not why Daiki chose this hotel.)

Two sharp knocks on the door of his room shook him out of his thoughts.  
Daiki groaned, rolling off of the bed in lazy movements. He had just arrived back to the hotel, and on his way up he had asked the receptionist if they could send someone to bring him a few extra pillows.

Opening the door, Daiki’s vision was filled with the most attractive man he had seen in a while.  
Red hair, sun kissed skin and soft looking, plumb lips. Obvious muscle all over his body was visible even under the uniform the man was wearing and as Daiki captured his gaze, the bluenette was blown away by the intensity of those blood-red eyes.

The warm smile the redhead had been wearing changed into a look of shock as he looked at Daiki, making the slightly taller male raise an eyebrow. A long moment of silent staring ensued, not that Daiki was really complaining. He would like to know, however, why the redhead kept staring at him like he’d suddenly grown a second head.

“Holy shit”, an amazed breath passed the hotel employee’s lips before he could catch himself, and blushed immediately. Daiki couldn’t help but smirk a little. His initial thought had been that this guy was hot as all hell, but now that the redhead was blushing, he was… cute.  
“I- I mean”, the man stuttered, “I’m sorry. Um, you asked for more pillows, right?”

Daiki merely nodded and let the man into his room. He couldn’t help but notice the redhead kept throwing curious glances at him every few seconds, and while he didn’t mind the attention, he eventually asked, “Can I help you with something, or are you just checking me out?”

The redhead very nearly tripped over his own feet while setting the pillows on Daiki’s bed, skin flushing that adorable shade of red again.  
“I’m sorry”, the man said again, “but… you’re Aomine Daiki, aren’t you?”

Daiki was honestly surprised he had been recognized. He didn’t think many people in Japan actually knew shit about basketball, much less basketball players who played in America.  
“Yeah”, he said then, looking at the redhead with renewed interest, “I’m surprised you know me”  
The hotel employee grinned brightly, making something flutter uncontrollably in Daiki’s chest.  
“I play too”, the man said, “I used to live in America actually, some time ago. I went to see a few of your games, even”

“That so?”, Daiki smiled a little. He couldn’t help but feel proud, for some reason. They chatted for a few moments, before the other man said he had to go back to work.

“Wait”, Daiki called after him just as the redhead was about to walk out, “What’s your name?”  
The man smiled widely, “Kagami Taiga. It was nice meeting you”  
And with that he was gone.

_Kagami Taiga, huh? ___

—–

It turned out Taiga was the one usually in charge of cleaning Daiki’s room.

The bluenette had barged in while Taiga was still cleaning so many times already that it was becoming a norm for them. The first time Taiga had quickly apologized and explained that he wasn’t quite done yet, and asked if it was possible for Daiki to wait just for a little while. By now, when Daiki walked in and Taiga was still in the room, he was met with a “Yo, Ahomine” and that beautiful grin that did very weird things to his heart.

The reason they were in such close terms with each other could be reasoned with the fact that Taiga was probably the person Daiki saw most during his week.  
The bluenette had picked up a bad habit of calling the room service for every single little thing in hopes of seeing Taiga again, and by some stroke of luck it usually was Taiga who appeared outside his door moments later.

It surprised him how creative he could get with his requests, just so he could spend a few minutes with some guy he had met only weeks ago.

He was also starting to get concerned for his weekly budget (not that he really had any reason to), since every single time Taiga did something for him, Daiki would give the most generous tip.  
At first Taiga had looked gobsmacked as Daiki basically thrust money at him, waving his hands in the air and quickly explaining that it was too much and that he didn’t even need to give a tip.

Daiki was quite proud by how he had practically glared the redhead into silence and told him to just take the money. By now Taiga accepted the money with a grateful ‘thank you’, but still looked a little flustered by it. Daiki found it so cute he couldn’t help but always look forward to giving Taiga his tip.

Satsuki, being the observant devil she was, hadn’t failed to notice her best friend was constantly in dreamlands recently. When the pink haired woman finally got Daiki to admit he might have a small (or not so small) crush on the cute, hot, funny bastard who worked at the hotel, she found it incredibly amusing.

Satsuki also didn’t fail to point out it was quite ironical that Daiki would fall for someone after only knowing them for the shortest time, since he had always been the one to tell her there was no such a thing as ‘love at first sight’.

(Daiki stands corrected now, not that he would admit it.)

——

One day, nearing the end of his fifth week of residence at the hotel, Daiki called for someone to pick up his laundry. And, as expected, it was Taiga who showed up at the door.

They talked for a moment, before Taiga suddenly said, “So, Aomine. Are you going to ask me out on a proper date, or are you just going to keep calling room service for every smallest thing you need done and keep throwing money at me?”

The bluenette was rendered speechless for a second, before he barked out a startled laugh.  
Taiga was looking at him with an amused expression, a slight blush yet again evident on his cheeks.  
“Yes, fine, I get your point”, Daiki chuckled, “How about it then? A dinner on Saturday, maybe?”

Taiga threw another one of those blinding smiles of his in Daiki’s direction and nodded eagerly.  
“Yeah, I’ve been waiting for that invitation for weeks now”, he laughed, making Daiki roll his eyes.  
“I am still gonna keep calling room service for everything, by the way”, the taller man said, “There’s no way I’m doing these things by myself since I live at a hotel”

Taiga sighed, still smiling as he said, “Just what I expected from my best tipping customer”  
Daiki ‘tch’ed and finally, finally grabbed Taiga and pulled him in for a short kiss. He had wanted to do that for a long time already, and now he could.

Taiga kissed him back just as willingly, letting out a soft noise of pleasure as Daiki pushed their bodies closer.  
When they parted, Daiki licked his lips and said, “Maybe I’ll start giving you kisses now, instead of a tip”  
Taiga laughed joyously and answered, “I really wouldn’t mind”

Their lips smashed together again, and the next time they pulled away from each other was when another employee found them lip-locked after he had been sent to find where Taiga had suddenly disappeared.

“See you on Saturday then”, the redhead grinned, slightly embarrassed, before he skipped out of the room.  
And Daiki had honestly never been more excited about a date before.


	5. Proposal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aomine finally proposes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, just a fluffy proposal fic I came up with some time ago :)

One of Daiki’s favorite things was coming home after a tiring day at work and finding Taiga in the middle of cooking dinner for them. He loved watching his boyfriend move around the kitchen with a practiced ease, humming a random tune and wearing the pink, frilly apron Daiki had bought for him as a joke when they were in college.

He didn’t often get to see this, since he was at work until late and dinner was usually ready by the time he got home. But on the few days he left work early, he always looked forward to just sitting in the kitchen and watching his boyfriend cook. It was a soothing sight, in a way.

Today Daiki had left work late. He was looking forward to eating dinner, which he assumed was already waiting for him, and then just cuddling Taiga on the sofa while watching TV.  
But as he opened the front door to their apartment, he heard Taiga shuffling around the kitchen.  
A delicious smell hit his nose as he walked further in and he heard Taiga softly mumbling something to himself.  
Daiki stopped at the kitchen door, leaning on the doorframe. His redheaded boyfriend was in the middle of chopping vegetables while there was something cooking in the oven.

“Hey”, Daiki said when it became clear Taiga was too concentrated on his task at hand to notice he had come home. The redhead jerked back a little and for a moment Daiki was afraid he’d cut his finger.  
Taiga turned to look at him, a confused expression on his face.  
“Hey”, he said and set down the kitchen knife, leaning on the counter, “I didn’t hear you come in”

Daiki smirked a little, sauntering closer to his boyfriend and pulling him in for a quick kiss.  
“Yeah, I noticed”, he said. Daiki slid a hand through Taiga’s red locks, before pulling it back to caress Taiga’s cheek. Daiki softly pecked Taiga on the nose once before moving to sit on their dining table.  
Taiga glared at him and rolling his eyes, he said, “You know, the chairs are there for you to sit on”

When he received no answer, he picked up the knife once again and started chopping the carrots.  
Daiki felt squeamish all of a sudden, watching Taiga move around. He couldn’t pinpoint the feeling exactly, but he felt like he needed to do something.

This wasn’t enough anymore.

“The dinner is gonna be ready in a while”, Taiga said, “Go take a shower and-“  
He was cut off, however, by Daiki who suddenly said, “Marry me”

All movement halted for a few seconds, Taiga’s brain having to take some time to process what he had just heard and if he had heard it right. Daiki also took a few seconds to realize he had said the words out loud.  
When he finally caught up with the reality of having just so bluntly proposed to his long-time boyfriend, Daiki gasped and hid his face behind one hand.

Meanwhile Taiga was standing there, in the middle of a kitchen with a knife in hand, completely stupefied.  
“Daiki, what- I mean… Just, what?”, the redhead finally stuttered out.  
The tan male looked at him, an embarrassed smile on his lips as he rubbed the back of his neck.  
“I was- ah, I was actually supposed to do this properly”, Daiki said, “I even bought a ring and all, and I was going to take you out or something. I mean, I thought… since we’re going to America in three months. You know, we could get married there-“

This time it was Daiki who got cut off by a very flustered Taiga, “You’re being serious?”  
The bluenette looked up at his boyfriend and nodded hesitantly.  
“You’re serious? You’ve actually thought about this?”, Taiga asked, his expression something between nervous, hopeful and confused.

Again Daiki nodded, “Yes, I’ve thought about it a lot. I went out and bought a ring for you a few months back, but I didn’t really get a chance to propose and- you know”  
He ended his small ramble with an awkward shrug, not daring to look at Taiga. Daiki was so nervous he didn’t think it was possible. He hadn’t thought he would ever be this nervous around Taiga, of all people.

When a short silence followed, he quickly looked up again, panic flashing through him and said, “I mean, we don’t have to get married if you don’t want to! Not yet, anyway. I do want to marry you but if you don’t want to do it yet then that’s fine”  
He was turning into a blabbering moron. Maybe he was having a nervous breakdown or something.

Suddenly there were soft lips on his own, a hand tangling in his hair and the other gripping the front of his shirt.  
Daiki automatically responded by angling his head a little and opening his mouth to slip out a tongue to lick at Taiga’s lips.

The kiss was slow and short, and when Taiga pulled back he pressed his forehead against Daiki’s and said, “Shut up, you idiot. Of course I want to marry you”

A few tears slid down Taiga’s cheeks as he squeezed his eyes shut. He let out a ragged breath and buried his face in Daiki’s neck, embarrassed. Daiki smiled and pulled him closer, not really knowing what to say. He was so relieved he felt almost dizzy, and he couldn’t stop grinning like a lunatic. The grin only widened when he realized that in a few short months, he’d get to come home to his _husband_ cooking dinner for him in that silly apron he was wearing right at the moment.

“I want my ring”, Taiga then said matter-of-factly. Daiki blinked and tilted his head so he could look at his now-fiancé. The puzzlement he felt must’ve showed on his face, because the redhead in his arms snorted and said, “I want my engagement ring”  
Daiki also snorted out a laughter and unwrapped his arms from around Taiga.  
“A greedy one, aren’t you?”, he said but stood up all the same, already heading for their room where he had hidden the ring.

“I need something to show off to Kise when I tell him!”, Taiga yelled after him, “He’ll be so jealous, I can basically see his face already”  
“My god, what are you, a woman?”, Daiki huffed. Then he grinned.

At least he’d get to tell Kuroko how Taiga cried when Daiki proposed to him.


	6. Hospitals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taiga hates hospitals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. So. Yes, this was a request, and I have to admit I've never been to a hospital so I have no idea how everything there works. I'm sorry if this seems a little rushed, I tried my best! xD

Taiga hated hospitals.

The last time he was in a hospital, his mother died.   
Granted, it was years ago and his mother had been sick for a long time, but it still left Taiga with a sense of dread whenever he thought of going to a hospital.

And now here he was, getting ready for a surgery. His father had been supposed to come to Japan before the surgery would take place, because he knew how much Taiga hated being there alone, but something had come up at work and he simply couldn’t leave. Taiga understood that and he knew how important the company was to his dad, but it still would’ve been nice to have someone with him.

The door suddenly opened, scaring Taiga a little. His gaze landed on a young man, around the same age as him, with tan skin and navy blue hair. The other looked as surprised to see Taiga as the redhead felt at the moment.  
Tilting his head to the left, Taiga blinked at the man.

“Um, sorry”, the low, sultry voice of the navy haired man sent pleasant shivers down Taiga’s spine, “Must’ve gotten the wrong room”  
“Yeah”, Taiga nodded. The tan male didn’t leave, even after saying that. Instead he seemed to study Taiga, midnight blue eyes taking in the redhead’s appearances.   
“Which room were you looking for?”, the redhead finally asked, running his tongue over his dry lips in an attempt to wet them. The bluenette’s observing gaze was unnerving, if Taiga was being honest.

The man scowled just slightly and said, “217… I think. Though it could’ve been 317”  
Taiga couldn’t help but snort at the half irritated and half confused look on the other’s face.  
“Sorry”, he chuckled, “This is 217, so obviously it’s not here. 317 is one floor up, I think”  
“What the hell, this keeps happening to me”, the tall man sighed and scratched the back of his head, “Sorry for barging into your room though”

Taiga shook his head with a smile, “No, it’s fine. Is there someone you’re visiting here?”  
“Yeah”, the man said, “My grandfather. The stubborn old bastard just won’t die, this is the third time this year he’s in the hospital. I bet he’ll be up and kicking soon again”  
It was awful really, hearing someone talk like that about their own family, but Taiga couldn’t suppress a small chuckle at the jokingly frustrated tone in the other’s voice.

“Why’re you here?”, the question caught Taiga off guard. The navy haired guy didn’t seem to think it was weird at all to ask someone who he’d just met such a question, so Taiga shrugged a little, trying to seem nonchalant.   
“I’m having a surgery”, he said, fighting off a shiver of dread traveling through his body.

Taiga was kind of glad the other man didn’t ask further questions about it, but looked around instead as if looking for something.  
“There’s no one here with you?”, he eventually asked, turning back to look at Taiga with confusion written all over his face.

The redhead bit his lower lip and sighed, “Yeah, my dad was supposed to come but he couldn’t make it. It’s not a big surgery anyway, so it’s fine”  
“What’s your name?”, the man asked, frowning.

“Huh? Kagami”, Taiga answered, “Kagami Taiga”  
“Well then, Kagami, maybe I’ll drop by again after your surgery, yeah?”, the bluenette grinned a little, “I’m Aomine Daiki, by the way”  
Taiga smiled, partly confused as to what was happening, but partly relieved that maybe he’d have someone to look forward to seeing afterwards.   
“Yeah”, he smiled wider, “Thanks, Aomine”

Another fifteen minutes passed by with idle chatter filling the room, the two newly acquainted men were sucked completely into their own little bubble, the world forgotten.   
Taiga couldn’t stop smiling. Daiki was the first person he immediately felt so at ease with.   
“Oh, crap”, Daiki finally looked at the clock and cringed, “I should get going, I still have to find gramps”

They said their goodbyes and Daiki left. Taiga was expecting to feel that odd sense of dull panic and restlessness again the moment Daiki was out of the room since he was once again left alone.   
And granted, he still felt nervous, but who wouldn’t just before a surgery? He didn’t, however, start imagining the worst outcomes and bringing himself near hysterics in his own head.  
Instead he kept thinking of his encounter with Daiki. It seemed to provide a good distraction for him, and the redhead wondered if the man would really come and visit again.   
Probably not, but it’d been nice to hear he might.

The surgery went without a hitch, or at least that was what the doctors said. Taiga knew he should trust the professionals, but he couldn’t help thinking ‘what if there was something they missed?’ or ‘what if there’s something they forgot?’.

Lying in his hospital bed, with a dull pain in his wound and thoughts slightly muddled from the pain medicine, Taiga had nothing but idle time to come up with scenarios, every new thought more horrifying than the last one. Another day and Taiga could finally go home.

A knock on the door pulled him out of his thoughts again. Taiga furrowed his eyebrows as the door opened.  
His frown turned into a smile though, when he saw just who it was at the doorway.   
“Aomine”, he greeted the bluenette, “I didn’t think you’d actually be coming back”  
“I said I would, right?”, Daiki said with a shrug, walking further into the room, “So, how did it go?”

“Fine, I guess”, Taiga said as the tan male sat down on the chair next to the redhead’s bed, “How’s your grandfather doing?”  
“Still alive”, Daiki chuckled, “Told me he’s not gonna kick the bucket before I introduce him to my ‘significant other’ so he knows there’s someone to take care of me”

Taiga smiled. He had never known his grandfather and he had never thought he cared about that, but the way Daiki talked about his made Taiga wonder what his own granddad would’ve been like.   
He also briefly wondered if it was normal to pay so close attention to the fact that Daiki had said ‘significant other’ instead of ‘girlfriend’.

Another forty minutes of joking around later, Taiga was assured Daiki was possibly the best distraction he’d ever had. Time seemed to fly by in a blink of an eye, and he was able to relax in the tan man’s presence.   
“When are you getting discharged?”, Daiki asked.  
“Tomorrow, probably”, the redhead answered, eager to finally get out of there.

Daiki hummed, going silent for a while, as if thinking hard on something.   
“Look… I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to, you know”, the tan male waved his hand nervously between them, “meet up some day after you get out of here? Or something”

Was he asking Taiga on a date?  
No, the redhead internally pouted a little, that couldn’t be it. Surely Daiki just meant hanging out as friends, right?

“Yeah, sure”, Taiga smiled, “Let me give you my number”  
The bluenette looked relieved as he dug out his phone and handed it to Taiga.  
After Taiga saved his contact information, Daiki announced it was his time to leave, but that he would call someday soon to talk more.

When he walked out of the room for the second time, Taiga stared after him with a goofy grin. Now he absolutely couldn’t wait to get home. Instead of haunting thoughts of ‘what ifs’, Taiga spent the rest of his day thinking about what they would do with Daiki when they met again.

It would take them almost another half a year to finally acknowledge they had more than friendly feelings for each other, a few months of pining on both of their behalves and yet some more time for Taiga to finally man up and ask Daiki out on a proper date (much to both of their families’ and friends’ delight – they had been waiting for that day for a long time).

But, when Taiga thought about it afterwards, it was all fine in the end.   
Daiki even had enough time to finally introduce Taiga to his grandfather, even if they were taking their time realizing they were head over heels in love with each other. 

(And maybe in another few years Daiki would finally seal the deal and ask Taiga to marry him.)


	7. You Can Stay Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically Aho and Baka coming out to their parents. (I made up Taiga's dad's name btw, I don't think it has been mentioned anywhere?)
> 
> Also, thank you to anyone who commented & left kudos! You're awesome!

Taiga hummed happily as he stepped into the kitchen on a Saturday morning.  
He took out a frying pan, some eggs and got to cooking breakfast, not once dropping the content smile on his lips.   
The ace of Seirin, Kagami Taiga, had come to the conclusion that life was awesome.

Not only had his team won a practice match against Kaijo yesterday, but his father had arrived to Japan in the evening too. The older Kagami would be staying in Tokyo for a few weeks, so that would give Taiga plenty of time to be with his father even in between school and practice. Not to exclude the fact that he was going to see Daiki today for the first time in a long time, while his dad met up with some old friends.

The thought of getting to spend time with his boyfriend made Taiga’s smile even wider and a joyful chuckle passed his lips moments later.   
“What’s got you so happy this early in the morning?”, his father’s voice called out, startling Taiga. The redheaded teenager watched as his father slumped down onto one of the kitchen chairs and shook his head.  
“Nothing in particular”, he said.

Taiga hadn’t told his father about him and Daiki dating yet, not because he thought the man would have something against it though. Taiga simply didn’t know how to approach the subject.   
Just blurting out ‘I’m dating Daiki’ would be awkward, but Taiga didn’t want to do the whole ‘dad, I’m gay’ speech thing either.

Taiga turned back to the omelets he was making, thinking about what he and Daiki would do today besides playing basketball. Maybe they’d go out to eat together, or finally go watch that movie they’d been wanting to see for a long time now. Or maybe-  
Taiga froze for a second, tilting his head. Maybe he could introduce Daiki to his dad. The redhead turned to look at his father once again, seeing the older man had by now immersed himself in reading the day’s newspaper.

But, then again, maybe not. Taiga frowned a little and turned back to the omelet. Who was to say Daiki even wanted to meet Taiga’s dad? Besides, his dad had plans for tonight. Yeah, it wouldn’t work.   
Just as Taiga got rid of the seemingly ridiculous idea of introducing his boyfriend to his father, the man sitting down at the table seemed to read his mind and asked, “So, what are you doing today with that boyfriend of yours?”

Head still full of thoughts, Taiga simply answered, “Probably gonna play basket-“  
He snapped his mouth shut as his brain processed the words he’d just heard and spun around to face his father, who had laid down the newspaper on the table and was now smiling at him with a knowing look on his face.   
Taiga stared back, dumbfounded.

“How did you know?”, the redhead finally caved in and asked, making his father’s face light up. It was like he had been waiting for that question.   
“Taiga, you weren’t being very discreet”, he said with a chuckle, “The way you always talk about that boy whenever we speak on the phone already tells me everything I need to know. The only thing that surprises me is that you’ve tried to keep it a secret this long”

Taiga nodded slowly, feeling embarrassed at being so easy to read.   
“Well, I didn’t exactly know how to go about telling you I’ve got a boyfriend”, Taiga shrugged. It wasn’t a lie, really. Looking back though, Taiga probably should’ve realized he was being quite obvious.   
Well, at least this solved the problem of letting his father know about their relationship.

Taiga didn’t say anything else, turning to take out plates and utensils for them instead and his father seemed to drop the subject at least for now.   
They ate breakfast in a comfortable silence, Taiga’s dad still reading through the newspaper and Taiga still thinking about what he’d do with Daiki and about the surprising conversation he’d just had with the older Kagami.

After they were finished, Taiga’s father started doing the dishes while Taiga headed for the living room. However, he didn’t get to take more than a few steps towards the very inviting looking couch before the doorbell rang. Taiga’s dad cocked an eyebrow at him, as if to say ‘I thought you’ll be meeting Daiki later’, and Taiga frowned because indeed, he was supposed to meet Daiki only a few hours later at their usual street court.

And Taiga knew it was Daiki behind the door, because who else would it be? Kise and Kuroko always called before showing up and pretty much no one else ever came over to his house.   
Taiga shuffled to the door, curious as to why his boyfriend would just show up unannounced especially since he knew Taiga’s dad was visiting.

He opened the door, revealing a very irritated looking Daiki.

Taking a closer look at the teen, Taiga realized irritated wasn’t the right word. No, the bluenette looked absolutely furious, but also… somewhat dejected?   
“Daiki, hey”, he said and stepped aside, worry settling in his gut at the way his boyfriend stepped in without as much as greeting him, “What’s wrong?”

Daiki sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked tired.  
Taiga only then noticed the slightly taller boy had a bag with him and it seemed to be full, like he was going somewhere for a few weeks.   
“Sorry for barging in here like this”, Daiki finally said, his voice lower than usually.

Taiga shook his head, eyeing his boyfriend who looked absolutely worn down. It was so unlike Daiki to apologize for something like that, and it made Taiga a little nervous.  
“What happened?”, he asked.

“Remember when we talked about telling our parents about, you know…”, Daiki said, waving his hands between them in an futile effort to say something, “us?”  
Taiga nodded, “Yeah. You said you didn’t want to yet, because you thought they’d take it badly”  
Taiga remembered that particular conversation clearly, because he kind of understood why some people might be afraid of telling their parents things like this, but then again he couldn’t fully understand because he wasn’t scared of telling his father.

Daiki’s face crunched up, like he wasn’t sure how to say what he was about to say next.  
“I, uh… I told them, today”, the tan male finally said, not looking at Taiga. The redhead’s eyes widened, his gaze flitting over to the bag Daiki was carrying, then back to the bluenette’s face.  
“They… threw you out?”, he asked, voice barely above a whisper. Daiki nodded, his eyes stubbornly drained to the floor.

And Taiga didn’t know what to say. He’d had no idea Daiki’s parents would take it that badly.   
So instead of saying anything, he stepped forward and pulled Daiki to him, snaking his arms around the taller male’s torso in what he hoped was a comforting hug.  
“I’m sorry”, the redhead said after a while. He knew he had nothing to apologize for, but there wasn’t much anything else he could say.

Daiki’s lips made fleeting contact with Taiga’s forehead, his hands gripping the back of the shorter teen’s t-shirt. He started relaxing against Taiga, his bunched up muscles loosening little by little.   
“It doesn’t even hurt so much that they disowned me”, Daiki said quietly next to Taiga’s ear, “I was expecting that. But honestly, now I’ve got nowhere to go”

Taiga gave him a sad smile, maneuvering himself so he was looking Daiki in the eye.   
“What’re you talking about?”, he asked, pressing a hand on Daiki’s cheek, “You can stay here”

Daiki closed his eyes, a small smile breaking on his lips too. A tan hand came up to loosely grip the wrist of the hand Taiga had on his cheek, and Daiki said, “But what about your dad?”  
Taiga was about to answer, but closed his mouth immediately. He didn’t know what his father would say.   
It was one thing to be fine with your son having a boyfriend, but entirely another to allow the said boyfriend to move in with your son.

“He doesn’t mind one bit”  
They were both startled by the voice of Taiga’s father, who had appeared from the kitchen. Daiki quickly tried to let go of his boyfriend, but Taiga grabbed his hand and shook his head.  
“It’s fine”, he said reassuringly, “Dad knows already”

Daiki looked from Taiga to the redhead’s father, eyes wary, but when the older male didn’t seem offended or disturbed in the least, his posture relaxed once again.   
A small, polite smile made its way onto Daiki’s lips as he stepped forward and offered a hand to Taiga’s father.  
“It’s nice to meet you, Kagami-san”, the tan male said as the other man shook the offered hand with a smile of his own.

“Pleasure’s all mine, Daiki-kun”, he said, “And please do call me Kouji. No need to be so formal”  
Daiki nodded, smile widening just slightly.   
“Now, how about you get Daiki-kun settled in?”, Kouji said to Taiga, “I’ll need to get going soon, but when I come back, I’m thinking we should order pizza and maybe watch a movie together. What do you say?”

“Yeah”, Taiga said, smiling brightly to his father, “Sounds good”  
“Thank you, Kouji-san”, Daiki said, voice so full of relief Taiga had half a mind to march up to Daiki’s parents and punch them in the face for being such assholes to their own son.

Within minutes they had Daiki settled in, Taiga had pulled out the spare key and given it to Daiki to use and they were back in the kitchen, since Daiki hadn’t eaten anything yet.  
Their day went by quickly. After talking the whole thing through, the two of them had decided to put it to rest at least for now and headed out to play a one-on-one.

In the evening, when Daiki was seated between Taiga and Kouji on the couch with Taiga tucked safely under his arm and a big bowl of popcorn in between them, Taiga looked up to see the content smile on Daiki’s face and thought that yes, life was awesome indeed.

And in the morning when Taiga was in the kitchen making breakfast again, Daiki stumbled out of the bedroom, wrapped his arms around Taiga’s waist and grumbled out an incoherent sentence about how he was tired and starving. Kouji looked up at them from behind his newspaper with a kind, amused smile and Taiga couldn’t help but laugh out because that’s how happy he was.

And he decided that life was not only awesome.

Right at that moment, life was awesomely perfect, and nothing could change that for now.


	8. First Job

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daiki had always thought going to work would be tiresome and boring and just a drag in general, so when his parents decided it was time for him to start earning his own money instead of just asking his parents to pay for everything, Daiki had been quite sure his _life was over._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this was another request and I finished itjust last night. I'm sorry for any possible typos (I didn't actually proof read it properly ^.^"") I honestly don't know what happened with this one though, I was having such a hard time writing it, but it ended up a lot longer than I originally planned.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

Daiki had always thought going to work would be tiresome and boring and just a drag in general, so when his parents decided it was time for him to start earning his own money instead of just asking his parents to pay for everything, Daiki had been quite sure his _life was over._

He had complained, sulked and complained some more, but in the end he had started looking for a part time job. Daiki didn’t usually use money on a lot of things, so at first he had thought it wouldn’t be obligatory for him to actually get a job, but then he thought more about it and the realization that his parents probably wouldn’t even buy him all those new pairs of shoes anymore hit him.  
And that made him look for a job in a haste. The new Air Jordan shoes he wanted were coming out soon, and he’d be damned if he didn’t get them because his parents decided to ruin his life.

In another two weeks or so he had signed a contract for a part time job in a sports store, which didn’t sound like a horrible place to work in, he grudgingly admitted.  
Little did he know that his greatest (and pretty much only) rival worked there too.

Though, when he did find out he felt like screaming in horror and simultaneously cursing every entity in the universe for being against him, because _what did he ever do to deserve this?_  
Instead of doing either he merely stood there, glaring heatedly at the redhead who was glaring right back with no slight amount of vigor.

“What are you doing here?”, Taiga was the first one to break the tense silence between them.  
“Huh?”, Daiki regarded him coolly, raising an eyebrow as if to ask if he had gone completely stupid since the last time the met, “Working obviously”

Taiga looked like he was in physical pain, a grimace finding its way onto his features. Daiki’s frown deepened, it was him who was supposed to be in emotional pain for having to spend time around Taiga, not the other way around. Why couldn’t anything go like he wanted it to?

“Whatever”, Taiga finally scoffed, “Just don’t talk to me and I won’t talk to you”  
“Whatever”, Daiki echoed, rolling his eyes. He could work with that.

And so the store manager proceeded to explain how everything worked, while Taiga slinked off between the shelves to resume his work.  
Daiki sighed in relief when the redhead was out of sight, letting himself relax again.  
Being near Taiga put him on edge, and he couldn’t for the life of him figure out why. He had even tried mentioning it to Satsuki, but the girl had just rolled her eyes at him while muttering about some boys being too stupid for their own good.

Days passed and Daiki learned quickly what he was supposed to do, even if his pride took a few terrible blows from having to ask Taiga for help. While there were good sides to settling into a routine at work, the bad sides also reared their heads. On the good side, it was nice not feeling like a complete fool all the time due to not knowing what he was supposed to do, and he was actually able to help the customers now that he knew where everything was and all, but on the bad side Daiki was getting so _bored._

There was literally nothing interesting for him to do (ogling at way too expensive shoes did not count), and he couldn’t exactly go take a nap in the middle of work either.  
Taiga was still giving him the cold shoulder, barely saying a word to him unless it was necessary.  
Not that Daiki particularly wanted to talk to the other teen, but at least it would’ve taken some of the boredom away.

“Yo, Kagami”, Daiki finally broke the silence one day when he walked into the store, ready to start working.  
Taiga looked up at him from his place behind the cash register and cocked an eyebrow in confusion. He looked around quickly to see if there was anyone else Daiki could be addressing, but seeing no one else was around and the navy haired male had even said his name, Taiga had to conclude Daiki was indeed talking to him.

“Hey?”, he said, uncertain as to why Daiki was speaking to him at all.  
“The new Air Jordans are coming out next month, right?”, the tan teen said, grimacing internally at himself. He knew exactly when they were coming out, of course, but what else could he talk about with the other teen?

“Huh? Yeah, they are”, Taiga said.  
Daiki merely nodded, not saying anything else. Or well, he couldn’t come up with anything else to say.  
He felt Taiga’s eyes on him for a while longer, until the redhead shrugged slightly and turned back to the paper he had been reading before Daiki walked in.

That day wasn’t filled with suffocating silence and awkward glares at each other. Instead they worked in relaxed silence, even exchanging a few words here and there.  
And they both realized this was much better, they didn’t need to be on edge the whole time.

From that day on, when they had the same shifts at work, they would talk about basketball, training or complain about how it was taking too long for the new Jordans to come out.  
Daiki had discovered early on that one of his absolutely favorite things was finding out new ways to rile Taiga up.

He had developed it into a game of sorts, he entertained himself by coming up with new ways to piss Taiga off.  
One of his favorite means of annoying and embarrassing the redhead was calling him 'Tiger' in front of customers, especially the female ones who would giggle and call it ‘cute’.  
Taiga would always grit his teeth and glare at Daiki, yell at him after the customers were gone, and Daiki would snicker at him and retort with “why are you complaining, _Tiger?_ They thought it was an adorable nickname”.

Sometimes they would go to a street court after work and play until it was dark out and Daiki’s mother would call him, exasperated at him having missed dinner again.  
And Taiga would feel just the slightest bit guilty at having made him miss dinner, and ask Daiki to come over. He would tell Daiki could shower and his place and then he could cook for them, and Daiki would never turn down the offer of free food (he absolutely didn’t go because he had started to enjoy Taiga’s company. Nope, no. It’s just that the food was amazing).

At first, after they finished eating, Daiki would be quick to go home. He told Taiga there were things he needed to do, his mother would nag at him for staying too long or that he was tired from work and playing one on one.  
Of course that wasn’t the case. There was nothing for him to do at home, save for reading Mai-chan magazines and playing video games alone, his mother was more than happy, elated even, that Daiki finally had a friend who was not Satsuki or Tetsu, and while he was tired from playing, it wasn’t the bad kind of tiredness.

He simply didn’t know if Taiga wanted him there, if he was intruding in some way. And even though most people thought him a brash person, impolite and cocky, he did at least have some basic manners in him.  
Moreover, what would they even do? It was still weird for them to be hanging out, and there wasn’t really anything but basketball they could talk about.

It never even crossed Daiki’s mind that maybe Taiga invited him over because he wanted to hang out.  
That maybe the redhead didn’t mind his company as much as he let everyone believe.

But then one day, when Daiki finished the delicious meal Taiga had prepared for them and was about to say he should get going, Taiga opened his mouth and said something Daiki would’ve never thought to hear.  
“Wanna stay for a while? We can play something or…”, the redhead glanced around, as if trying to come up with something to do, “watch the old NBA games I have recorded”

Daiki was silent for a moment, before standing up and stretching. His muscles still burned in a good way from their previous one-one-one, and he was feeling contented from the meal.  
“Fine”, he said, in no hurry to go out into the cold evening air yet, “What games do you have?”

Taiga smiled, and Daiki felt his stomach do something weird.  
Maybe this was a bad idea after all.

He ended up staying the night, that day. When they finally stopped playing, it was well past midnight and it was a Friday night, so Taiga suggested he could sleep on the couch.  
Daiki was feeling quite comfortable there, so he called his mother and informed her he was staying.

They stayed up so late that they missed the alarm the next morning, making them efficiently late for work.

From that day onward Daiki always stayed. On weekdays he went home in the evening, on most weekends he stayed the night. In all honesty, it was confusing for the both of them just how quickly they had gone from ‘don’t speak to me!’ to ‘you’re staying tonight, right?’.

For Daiki, it was also slightly terrifying. As he got to know Taiga more, he seemed to develop a small crush on the boy. He felt lightheaded when Taiga spoke, his heart missed a beat every time Taiga smiled, he felt happy watching the redhead play, or cook, or do something else he liked, because Taiga always looked so content.

And then, the day they had been waiting for was there.  
The new Air Jordans were finally nearly in their grasp. They would only need to survive the work day, which had never seemed more painstakingly long. It was like the clock was not moving at all.

What Daiki didn’t expect though, was the constant string of people in the shop, wanting those shoes as well.  
The blue haired teen was quite sure he saw more familiar faces than he had seen in the last two months after the Winter Cup, and he wasn’t quite sure he wanted to see them all.

Taiga didn’t look any better off, secretly glaring at any and all customers who dared to put their hands on the shoes he wanted for himself.  
When Midorima walked into the store half an hour before their shift ended, Taiga flinched and waved his hand at Daiki, wordlessly telling him to go serve the green haired weirdo.

Daiki didn’t know whether to laugh or grumble at him, but stalked towards Midorima.  
“What do you want?”, he asked, not bothering to be polite since it was someone he knew.  
“Shoes, obviously”, Midorima pursed his lips a little, seemingly not too pleased to see Daiki either.

As it turned out, Midorima wanted _the_ shoes.  
Daiki groaned, but led his middle school teammate to the shoe section of the shop.  
Honestly, he had spent most of his day there, and it was getting annoying.

He loitered around while Midorima tried them on, rolled his eyes when the green haired teen said he’d take them, and proceeded to walk towards the cash register.  
On the way he noticed Taiga talking to an old lady, smiling just the slightest bit and nodding to whatever she was saying.

As soon as Midorima was out of the shop, Daiki realized the bastard had just taken one pair out of the three remaining pairs in his and Taiga’s size. Which meant there were only two pairs left.  
For a moment he entertained the thought of hiding the shoes somewhere and if someone asked for them, he could say they had none left. But the way his manager was glaring at him from across the room, Daiki dropped the idea and sighed.

Walking up to Taiga and the older lady he was talking to, Daiki asked, “Is there anything I can help with?”  
Taiga turned to look at him with a slightly pained expression, and the white haired old woman said, “Oh yes, I was just telling this charming young man how I came here to buy shoes for my grandson”  
Daiki bit back a chuckle at the compliment thrown at Taiga and said, “What kind of shoes would you want?”

“The new Air Jordans”, Taiga blurted out and Daiki suddenly understood why he seemed to be in pain.  
“Ah, what is your grandson’s size, ma’am?”, the tan male asked, a sense of dread building up within him. 

He would get those shoes, damn it.

But of course, the old lady smilingly told them her grandson had the same size Daiki and Taiga had, and that she wanted to buy two pairs just in case.  
Daiki had half a mind to tell the woman they were out of that size.  
“Ah, are you sure, ma’am?”, he said instead, faking a nonchalant voice, “I’ve heard those shoes are really not worth it. Would you like to look at some other models instead?”

Taiga looked at him with wide eyes, before he seemed to finally catch on to what Daiki was trying to do.  
“Oh, yes”, he said with that award winning smile of his, “I think there are many other shoes much better than the Air Jordan ones”  
“But my grandson specifically wanted these”, the woman said, walking towards the Jordans.

Daiki glanced at Taiga and they both knew they’d have to do something, or the shoes of their dreams were going to be taken away from them.  
“But don’t you think they would be happier with these?”, Taiga asked and steered the woman away, showing her the Nike Air Max shoes next to the Jordans.

“I’ve heard these are the really good ones”, Daiki said, “Better quality, too”  
Before the woman could say anything, Taiga continued, “I’ve heard the same. In addition these ones are much cheaper than the Jordans. Cheaper with better quality”  
Daiki nodded eagerly, nearly whooping in joy when the old lady looked back at the shoes with renewed interest.

Suddenly another customer appeared, asking Taiga for help.  
“I’ve got this”, Daiki mumbled to him and the redhead retreated to go help the other customer in the shop.  
“But I don’t know, after all”, the lady said, “You do make these sound like a better choice, but Teppei really did want the Jordans”

Daiki sighed. This old hag was never going to give up, was she?  
He glanced at Taiga, and frowned. The redhead would be crestfallen if he didn’t get them.  
“How about you buy one pair of these and one pair of the Jordans?”, he asked.

In the end that is what they did.

Taiga saw Daiki ringing up the Jordans and frowned. As soon as he was done helping his customer, he walked up to Daiki.  
“I thought you said you’ve got this”, he said, staring after the woman who exited the store.  
“Yeah, she wasn’t going to change her mind”, Daiki sighed, rubbing his temples, “There’s still one pair of shoes, you should go get them before another annoyingly stubborn lady walks in”

Taiga paused, and looked at Daiki with confused eyes.  
“But I thought you wanted them too”, he said, tilting his head.  
“Of course I do, but we only have one pair”, Daiki muttered, but didn’t look at Taiga.

The things he was willing to sacrifice for the redhead. Daiki was quite sure he had lost his mind.  
“Is this some weird kind of flirting? Giving me shoes, I mean”, Taiga blurted out before he could help it, jerking Daiki out of his brooding.

The tan male looked at him for a few seconds, before throwing his head back and letting out a loud laugh, making Taiga blush and cover his face with one hand.  
“I did not mean to say that out loud”, Taiga said, “It just seems to be becoming a habit for you to give me shoes”

Daiki chuckled and then shrugged.  
“I guess”, he said, a smirk finally finding its way to his lips, “but where did that question come from, Tiger? Were you hoping I was flirting with you?”

Taiga spluttered and turned into a bigger blushing mess than he already was.  
“Shut up!”, he said and turned around, marching away from Daiki.

The tan male grinned to himself.  
Maybe this was good. Maybe he wasn’t the only one with a crush.

Seeing an embarrassed, blushing Taiga was almost worth not getting those new shoes, Daiki decided.  
And now he had another game he could play during the work day. How many different ways are there to get Taiga to blush?

Daiki grinned wider and started closing up the shop. Yes, this was definitely a good thing.

He’s now glad he got this job – not that he would admit it to anyone.


	9. Smiles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firefighter Kagami and cop Aomine gives me life.   
> Bear in mind I have absolutely no idea what firefighters really do! I'm just hoping this is not terribly incorrect xD

Taiga doesn’t know how he does it. The man with navy hair, cerulean eyes and tan skin who lives right next door, that is. This man, _Aomine Daiki_ , somehow manages to distract him to the extent it’s disturbing Taiga’s daily life. His thoughts are always drawn back to the man, these days. 

(And Taiga really shouldn’t find him as fascinating as he does.)

One day, right after Taiga had moved into the apartment a year ago, the just slightly taller male had walked out of his apartment at the same time as Taiga was arriving home.   
The first thing about him that caught Taiga’s eye was the cast on the tan male’s arm, but he didn’t think much of it. Poor guy must’ve broken his arm while doing sports or something. 

Taiga glanced at him, momentarily stunned by the handsome features and perfectly sculptured muscle visible underneath his clothes, and then escaped into his apartment before the man would start thinking Taiga was some kind of a creep.

When he watched the news that night, he saw video footage of a police officer with the same blue hair and perfect, dark skin as his neighbor. The guy had apparently arrested a murderer, injuring himself in the process.

Then they show his face and… oh. _Oh._

It is his neighbor. 

————————-

The next time he hears about the man living next door is when Taiga sees him on the news _again._

His police department made a huge drug raid, and the one in charge of it is none other than the tall bluenette.   
This time Taiga makes sure to listen carefully, just to catch the man’s name.

(And Taiga honestly doesn’t know just why he makes extra sure to remember that name.)

The next time he actually sees Daiki again is at the street court near their apartment complex.   
Taiga has just finished a brutal shift at work and he is completely ready to crash on his bed and sleep for the next seventy years. The redhead passes by the court on his way home and sees someone shooting hoops by himself.

It’s Daiki, he realizes as he nears the court. It’s the man he’s been thinking about too much lately, and he doesn’t know what to do with himself as he watches the gorgeous bastard easily make shot after shot.   
It makes him happy for some reason, knowing the police officer plays the sport Taiga loves with every inch of his heart.

Daiki chooses that moment to turn around – maybe he knew he was being watched, somehow – and their gazes meet. Taiga thinks he sees something akin to surprise in the man’s eyes, but before he can dwell on it any further, he averts his eyes. Throwing a smile somewhere in the general direction of his neighbor, Taiga makes a hasty exit, cheeks burning with embarrassment for being found staring.

And after that there is a lot of _smiling._

When they pass in the hallway, when they accidentally meet at the shop closest to their apartment complex, or whenever Taiga sees Daiki at the street court, he always makes sure to give a smile to the blue haired man.   
Sometimes he finds himself smiling at the TV if he catches a glimpse of Daiki in the news.

(In all honesty, it scares him just how happy only seeing the man can make him.)

And for almost a year, Taiga keeps on watching his neighbor from afar. Usually he wouldn’t hesitate to walk up to a person he finds interesting and just start talking, but somehow it feels like there is this specific kind of… _aura_ around the navy haired man. One that says ‘stay away from me’.

Daiki had, however, started returning his smiles whenever they walked past each other.   
The tingling, happy feeling it caused, the way Taiga’s heart started beating just a little faster, it all made him feel like a love-sick high schooler. He hadn’t yet gathered enough courage to start greeting the male verbally when they saw each other, even though he had been _smiling at him_ for months.

Turns out he doesn’t need to, because Daiki beats him to it.

One day, Taiga scrambles out of his apartment in the morning, already running late. He locks the door hastily after checking he has everything he needs in the bag that’s slung over his shoulder.   
When he turns around, cursing at himself for not having woken up on time, he nearly crashes into something.

Or rather, someone.   
Daiki. Aomine Daiki is standing there with a startled expression on his face and Taiga jerks back in surprise.  
The redhead gasps out another curse and looks up to see the tan male now smirking at him lazily.   
“Hey”, the smooth, sultry voice makes Taiga suppress shivers threatening to run down his spine and he licks his lips involuntarily.

“Hey”, he says, just the slightest bit breathless and unable to keep a happy smile from his lips.   
Daiki looks pleased with their small exchange of greetings, nods, and walks past Taiga like nothing had happened. Only then the redhead remembers he’s supposed to be running to work at this moment.

Thankfully, the day at the fire department is not a busy one.   
There’s one incident with a car wreck they have to handle, but the rest of Taiga’s time is spent on maintaining equipment, hanging out with his coworkers, napping and cooking.

So, yes, a quiet day for once.

Until the evening came, at least.   
There was a report about some kind of an explosion in the police department a few blocks away, and after that everything was a blurry of movement.

When they got there, everything was in chaos. People were running around, the police officers who had made it out of the building were shouting orders back and forth.   
Taiga got to work the moment he stepped out of the firetruck. The second floor seemed to be in flames, thick clouds of smoke drifting out of the windows towards the evening sky. The first floor didn’t seem to have as much damage, but then again it could be worse on the inside than it looked.

Soon enough it was time to go inside and search for the people still stuck in there. Taiga and his partner Kiyoshi roamed the first floor, pushing through the dark curtain of smoke and heat, occasionally calling out in hopes someone would hear them.

The ceiling above them creaked dangerously, like it was about to collapse at any moment. They didn’t find anyone on the first floor, but as they proceeded towards the stairs to the second floor, Taiga saw a familiar figure lying down at the base of the stairs.

Rushing closer to the man, Taiga gasped as he saw the very familiar blue hair and tan skin that had occupied his mind too much over the past months.   
It was indeed his neighbor, but as Taiga got closer yet, he saw there was another person as well.

A woman with pink hair and fair skin. Daiki’s body was partly on top of the woman’s, as if he was trying to shield her from something.   
Taiga signaled at Kiyoshi to take the pink haired woman, as he wasted no time to lift Daiki off her and slung the man over his shoulders.

Taiga made his way back outside as fast as he could with a 190cm tall man over his shoulders. The paramedics were waiting for them by the front door, rushing into action as soon as they made it out of the building.

The woman who Kiyoshi had carried out was unconscious, but Taiga saw Daiki stir as an oxygen mask was placed over his mouth and nose. The blue haired male turned his head just the slightest bit, his cerulean eyes locking with Taiga’s red ones.   
Taiga saw the moment Daiki’s eyes lit up with recognition, and he felt relieved there didn’t seem to be anything seriously wrong with the man.

Haizaki and Okamura emerged from the building at the same moment Taiga broke the eye contact with Daiki, each carrying a person as well.   
“Found these two in the second floor”, Okamura told Taiga, handing his person in the care of the paramedics, “Nebuya and Wakamatsu should be right behind us”

Taiga nodded, his gaze once again seeking out Daiki, who had been moved further away from the building.   
“These two are the last ones”, Wakamatsu’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts, and Taiga looked at the blond male who had appeared while the redhead had been checking on Daiki.

In the end they were able to put out the remaining fires, but the building had suffered great damage due to the explosion. When they finally got back to the fire department, the adrenalin in Taiga’s body had worn off, leaving the redhead weary and ready to go home.

His shift had ended ages ago, and as Taiga changed out of his uniform he remembered the surprised expression on Daiki’s face when Taiga had rescued him.   
Chuckling tiredly to himself, Taiga decided his bed would have to wait for another while. He called a taxi to come and pick him up, heading for the hospital where Daiki had been taken to.

He asked for Aomine Daiki’s room number, and he was informed the bluenette was doing just fine, but they were still going to keep him under surveillance for one night at the hospital.   
Heading towards the room number given to him, Taiga started to wonder what he was even doing here.   
Would it be weird for him to just show up like this?

Nervously knocking on the room’s door, his heartrate picked up just slightly. He opened the door, stepped in and was yet again met with surprised blue eyes on him.   
Daiki looked so tired Taiga felt bad for having disturbed him and suddenly the redhead felt even more nervous than a moment before. Daiki probably wanted to rest, not see his neighbor who he’d once said ‘hey’ to.

Biting his lower lip, Taiga shifted in his place, half of him wanted to turn around and run, but the other half reminded that would just look way too weird.   
“No smile for me today, huh?”, Daiki’s low voice broke the silence after a few seconds.

Taiga snapped his startled gaze to look at the man, and finally a quiet chuckle escaped his mouth. A small, tired smile settled on his lips and he said, voice rough, “Sorry, I shouldn’t have come. I mean, you probably want to rest and all, but I wanted to see if you’re doing alright and…”  
He cut himself off abruptly when he realized he was beginning to ramble, but Daiki seemed more amused than irritated by his behavior.

“No, it’s fine”, the navy haired male said with a smirk, “Who wouldn’t want to see their savior after such a near death experience after all?”  
Taiga automatically rolled his eyes at the teasing tone in the other’s voice, “Near death experience my ass, you seem to be just fine”

Daiki laughed quietly, shrugging then, “It sounded cooler that way”  
Taiga smiled at him, truly happy that Daiki was fine and unharmed.   
“So, you seem to know my name since you knew whose room number to ask for”, Daiki said, “Care to introduce yourself now?”

Taiga felt heat creeping up on his cheeks, “Oh, sorry. Um, I’m Taiga. Kagami”  
Daiki nodded his approval at the awkward introduction.

“So, Taiga”, he said, making the blush on Taiga’s cheeks darken due to the use of his first name, “We’ve been smiling at each other for almost a year now. Now that we’ve actually talked, do you think it’s too soon to ask you out? Or would you rather spend another year smiling at each other first?”  
Taiga hid his face behind his hands, quite sure it was as red as his hair by now.

“Oh my god, you are an asshole, you know that right?”, he mumbled into his hands, drawing out another laugh from the bluenette. No matter how much he wanted to be annoyed, he couldn’t fight off the happy grin invading his lips, “But yeah, a date sounds good”

“Great”, Daiki said, his smirk turning into a softer smile, “I’ll look forward to it”  
Taiga nodded, bid the man good night and finally headed home.

Seriously, he would never understand just how one man can distract him so, occupy all his thoughts by merely existing, but maybe it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

(And it takes Taiga months yet to realize he’s fallen for his neighbor.)


	10. School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagami is the new school nurse and Aomine has taken an interest in him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I wrote this at 6am without having slept at all, so forgive me for any possible typos or weird sentences x)

Daiki had never been one to care about school.  
He had basketball, and he was good at what he did after all, so in his mind there was no reason to go to classes and study things he would never need in life after he graduated.

It was all thanks to Satsuki that he even showed up at school every morning, but even the pink haired girl couldn’t persuade him to go to classes he didn’t want to attend.  
In one sentence: his attendance was shit. Daiki only went to lessons often enough to barely pass the classes, he had it all carefully calculated in his head. If there was any chance of skipping a class and still passing, he could be found napping on the rooftop or sometimes in school’s infirmary.

Nowadays, it was the latter more often than not.

His favorite place, the rooftop, had been suddenly replaced by the infirmary when their school nurse had been replaced by a young man after she got into an accident and was unable to work for a while. First Daiki paid no attention to the new nurse whatsoever, he was quite sure it was some old hag anyway, but after a while he started hearing the girls gossip about the new staff member during class.

_“Did you see him?”_  
_“He’s so hot”_  
_“I heard Yuki-chan twisted her ankle on purpose so she could go to the infirmary”_

Their giggles and swooning got annoying as time passed, but it also piqued Daiki’s interest.  
Just who was this new ‘hot’ school nurse they were talking about?

After Sakurai got accidentally hurt during practice (one of the few times Daiki was actually present) and came back with a bandage around his wrist, one of the second years asked him about the nurse.  
It seemed Daiki wasn’t the only one hearing all these rumors.

Sakurai shrugged with a small, rare grin on his lips and said, “He’s nice. Really nice”  
That was when Daiki decided it was time for him to pay the man a visit. Maybe it’d be worth his time.

So, the next day the tan teenager made his way to the infirmary after lunchbreak. He ran a hand through his hair before entering, and tugged at his tie to loosen it around his neck. After all, he had nothing to lose by gussying up a little before entering. If the guy turned out to be as hot as the girls said, looking good would rather help Daiki’s case.

Stepping in, cerulean eyes slid over the empty infirmary beds and other plain furniture in the room. His brows furrowed as he noticed there was no one in there.  
Maybe the school nurse was taking his lunchbreak as well. Daiki squished the feeling of disappointment blooming in his chest and walked over to one of the two beds, flopping down on it.

He’d just have to wait then.

And wait he did, though not for long. He heard the door open about ten minutes later, and cracked one eye open as he heard a surprised hum from the doorway.  
His breath caught in his throat for a second as he laid eyes on the man standing at the door.

Yeah. He could _definitely_ see what all the fuss was about.

Bright red hair, sun-kissed skin, tall, muscular build. He was close to perfect.  
Ruby red eyes leveled with cerulean ones and a small, soft smile made its’ way onto the nurse’s lips.  
“Hey. I’m sorry if I woke you up”, he said, voice low, sending shivers down Daiki’s spine, “Are you alright?”

Daiki felt like he’d been robbed of something precious as he thought of how many of those smiles he’d missed since the man came to their school. The thought that it was his own fault for not coming to see the redhead never even entered his mind.  
Finally he realized he was supposed to give an answer and nodded dazedly.

“Yeah”, Daiki said, his voice a little husky from not having been used for a while, “I was just… feeling a bit dizzy”  
It was a lie of course, but he needed a reason as to why he was there.  
Daiki’s eyes flitted over to the nametag the nurse had pinned on the front of his shirt.

 _Kagami Taiga._ Huh.  
The name somehow fit him perfectly.

“Ah, well please do lie down then”, Taiga smiled at him warmly again and headed for his desk, “I’ll try to be quiet so you can get some sleep, uh…?”  
“Aomine”, Daiki answered to the inquiring look the redhead threw his way, “Aomine Daiki”  
Taiga nodded and sat down. His red eyes scanned over some papers on the table, and he seemed oblivious to the ravenous gaze on his back.

Daiki licked his lips.  
Yes, he’d definitely be coming here more often now.

Taiga was young. Daiki’s best guess was that he had been hired straight out of school, since they had really needed to find a replacement soon. They probably had hired the first person with all the right qualifications to ask for the job.

“Was there something you needed?”, Taiga’s voice suddenly broke the calm silence in the room and Daiki realized the redhead was now looking at him. Shaking his head, Daiki tried to smile charmingly at the man.  
“No, sorry”, he said, the words tumbling out of his mouth, “I was just spacing out”  
“Are you feeling better already or do you want to still lie down?”, Taiga asked, “because you should be in class right now”

Daiki almost let out a laugh. So apparently Taiga hadn’t heard about his reputation yet.  
“The teacher knows I’m not going to class”, he chuckled and lied back down on the bed. Taiga furrowed his eyebrows (very adorable, split eyebrows, Daiki noted).  
“So, you told them you’re coming here?”, he asked and Daiki was starting to feel like this was some kind of an interrogation. The old school nurse never asked questions when he showed up.

“You could say that”, he shrugged and closed his eyes. Maybe he’d take a short nap and afterwards he would be able to concentrate on coming up with a master plan better.  
He was a man on a mission, now.

Daiki wanted Kagami Taiga, and he _always_ got what he wanted.

———-

Taiga groaned as he heard the door open once again. Like a clockwork, Daiki had been coming to the infirmary right after lunch every day for the past three weeks.  
Remembering their first meeting, Taiga frowned bitterly. When he had stepped into the room and seen Daiki laying down on the bed, he had been surprised.

No high school student should look that good, he had thought and when he heard Daiki’s husky, low voice, he had to remind himself that this indeed was a student. _Out of limits._  
He turned to glare at the tall teenager standing in the doorway, who was looking at him with eyes that promised a wild night on the dick of God, lust swirling freely in the deep blue orbs for all world to see.

“What do you want?”, he asked, a thick layer of irritation evident in his voice. Taiga was aware he shouldn’t talk like that to a student, but Daiki was an exception. No one would probably blame him for getting annoyed with the navy haired teen.  
“You”, came the swift, curt reply and Taiga could basically hear the smirk in Daiki’s devious voice. God he hated that voice.

“Too bad you can’t always get what you want then, isn’t it?”, he answered, turning back to the work he’d been doing, “Go to class, kid”  
Daiki let out a quiet hum, a sound akin to a snort, and Taiga heard him settle down on the bed, “I think I’m feeling a bit ill, actually”

Taiga ground his teeth together when those words left Daiki’s mouth.  
_Bullshit._

It always went like this. Daiki would come in, make a few very bad (and maddening) sexual innuendos, and then spend the rest of the period just lounging on the bed, staring at Taiga.  
Sometimes he would attempt to make small talk with Taiga, but it would always somehow end up in Daiki talking about how he wanted to ravish Taiga’s body right there on one of the infirmary beds.  
And Taiga would pretend not to listen.

He never acknowledged the things Daiki said, but to his horror he couldn’t outright deny he wanted it as well. Nor could he find it in him to kick Daiki out.

So he did what he could to not at least encourage Daiki’s behavior and endured the horrible pick-up lines and sexual jokes, ignored the undeniable attraction he was feeling towards the teen.  
It was not professional, and it wasn’t right, but Taiga couldn’t control how he felt. His only consolation was that at least Daiki was not underage anymore.

He didn’t really mingle with the teachers and other staff all that much. Sometimes he exchanged a few short words with them, but usually he preferred being by himself.  
He wasn’t here to make friends, and he was a temporary replacement anyway. So when the work day was over, Taiga would always be quick to pack his things and leave. On his way home he’d drop by a basketball court to shoot some hoops, sometimes just for fun and sometimes to unwind a little after a particularly stressing day.

One day when he was once again at the street court he usually went to, he encountered the only person he did not want to see outside work.  
Aomine Daiki walked onto the court with a ball tucked under his arm and a lazy, bored expression on his features. He was looking down at his phone, and Taiga entertained the thought of running for a moment.

“Hey”, the words escaped himself before he could help himself.  
Daiki jerked in surprise and snapped his gaze to Taiga, eyes widening just a fraction. The redhead resigned to his fate and started mentally preparing for another poor pick-up line. What he got instead was a wondering hum, and an inquiry, “You play ball too?”

Taiga nodded, “Yeah”  
Daiki grinned a little, “Play me then”  
The redhead was about to roll his eyes and tell Daiki to shut up, until he realized what the younger male had said, “W- what?”

Daiki tossed the ball that had been tucked under his arm to Taiga and repeated himself, “Let’s play one-on-one”  
Taiga was dumbfounded. There was no trace of Daiki’s usual flirty nature in sight now as he talked about basketball. Instead the younger male got into a defensive position and raised an eyebrow at Taiga, as if asking whether he was going to play or not.

Taiga sighed, but nodded then. One game couldn’t hurt, right?

“Just don’t cry when I wipe the court with your ass”, he said with a small smirk playing on his lips as he got into position as well, and Daiki let out a laugh.  
“I’d like to see you try”, he answered, looking a bit too smug.

Taiga wasn’t expecting much, honestly. Daiki didn’t strike him as a person who’d have the patience or motivation to practice enough to be actually good.  
But oh, was he wrong.

When Daiki made the first basket shortly after stealing the ball from Taiga’s possession, the redhead could do nothing but gape for a while. He had never seen such an agile player before.  
A grin spread on his lips as he turned to look at Daiki, “You’re better than I imagined”  
“What did you expect then? I’m not the ace of our team for nothing, you know”, Daiki scoffed and Taiga would be lying if he said he wasn’t surprised.

Daiki was in the basketball club?  
“Oh?”, he said, and smiled then, “it’s going to take a lot more than that to beat me though”  
“I would be disappointed if it were that easy”, Daiki shot back, a smile of his own decorating his handsome features.

They ended up playing until dusk, neither of them even knew the score anymore. They just played, completely immersed in their own world for the time being.  
Taiga enjoyed the way Daiki seemed to be happy while playing, carefree and excited. The smile on his face looked much better than the cocky smirk Taiga was used to seeing.

Finally, when they were both too tired to even move, Taiga collapsed on the ground and let out a contented sigh. It had been so long since anyone was able to push him to his limit like that.  
“You’re really good”, Daiki’s voice broke the comfortable silence that befell them.  
“Used to play a lot back when I lived in America”, Taiga mumbled, relishing the way his muscles burned after their intense one-on-one session.

“You lived in America?”, Daiki asked, his voice lilted with amazement and curiosity.  
“Yeah, until my final year of middle school”, Taiga nodded and closed his eyes for a moment, “I quit the basketball team in high school because I was so frustrated with the way no one seemed to come even close to my skill level. I won every game pretty much without even trying”

Daiki was silent for a long while, before he chuckled. His voice seemed a little weird though, so Taiga cracked one eye open and turned to look at the tan teenager.  
There was a hint of sadness in Daiki’s eyes as he said, “Kind of like me then. I stopped going to practice in middle school”

“Huh?”, Taiga frowned and sat up, looking at Daiki, “Why?”  
“What’s the point if no one can beat me anyway?”, Daiki simply answered, and his voice held so much pain and longing Taiga couldn’t help but feel bad for him.  
“That’s stupid”, he scoffed and got a surprised look from Daiki, “The world is big, of course there’s someone who can beat you. There’s always someone better”

“Next time we’ll play a proper one-on-one and I’ll beat your sorry ass”, he continued, but snapped his mouth shut when he realized two things.  
He had just offered to hang out with Aomine Daiki in his free time, of all people in the world.  
And he had automatically just assumed there would be a second time. A second time he was looking forward to.

Daiki let out a loud laugh, any trace of the previous sadness and pain in his voice gone.  
“What are you saying?”, he smirked, “Are you really that eager to spend time with me? You should’ve told me sooner so I could’ve taken you out on a date or something”

And there it was. The asshole he knew and kind of hated.  
The flirting was going to begin now.

“Shut up”, Taiga said, “I didn’t mean it like that. Anyway, I’m going home now”  
Daiki made a whining sound, but didn’t comment anything for once. At least until Taiga had all his belongings packed and was starting to leave.  
“See you tomorrow at school, darling!”, the tan male shouted after him and Taiga grit his teeth. How in the seven circles of Hell had he been able to forget this guy was an ass?

From that day on their routine changed. Daiki would still come over to the infirmary, he would still drive Taiga crazy, but after school was out he would always be at the street court, already waiting for Taiga.  
They’d play, and each time was just as exhilarating as the first had been. They never got bored with each other, and Taiga would never admit it to anyone, but every time he fell in love with Daiki’s plays a little more.

As time passed, their one-on-ones turned into a trip to Maji or time spent in Taiga’s apartment, playing video games and eating the food he cooked for them.  
For the longest time Taiga didn’t realize he had grown quite fond of Daiki, because whenever he wasn’t trying to get into Taiga’s pants, he wasn’t so bad to hang out with. Sometimes Daiki would call him in the evening just because he was bored, and they would talk on the phone for hours.

And then one day it hit him.  
The terrible realization that he was basically dating Daiki.

It was during work, with Daiki lounging on his usual place on the bed and Taiga sitting in front of his computer.  
They had been talking about basketball, and Daiki said, “Are we going to the court first and to your place after?”

They had settled into such a comfortable routine that Daiki already just assumed they were going to hang out after playing one-on-one.  
Taiga panicked a little, and said, “Uh, I don’t… know if I can make it today after all”

Daiki frowned, “Why?”  
“I just remembered I promised a friend I’d help him with a thing today”, Taiga made up a hasty excuse, threw a small smile to Daiki over his shoulder and busied himself with work.  
He missed the way Daiki narrowed his eyes, but definitely heard as the teenager slid off the bed and picked up his bag, “Well, I guess I’ll go home then”

Taiga hummed and said ‘see you later’ without looking at Daiki and sighed out in relief as the tall male exited the room. The infirmary was suddenly too quiet.  
Glancing at the clock, Taiga found he still had a few hours until he could go home.

That evening he sat on the couch in front of his TV, alone, feeling out of place in his own house. Due to not having played against Daiki today, he was left feeling jittery and overly energetic.  
He had also accidentally made food for two, not having remembered Daiki was not there.

His hand hovered over his phone many times that evening, but in the end he went to bed without calling Daiki.  
That night was spent restlessly tossing around, until he had to admit to himself he did have feelings for the teen. There was no denying it with the way he had been acting these few months.

The next day Taiga kept glancing at the clock, waiting for lunchbreak to be over so he’d see Daiki again.  
They needed to have a serious talk about their relationship.

Lunch break began, Taiga stayed in his place and waited.  
Lunch break ended, there was no sign of Daiki.  
Ten minutes, twenty minutes, half an hour, one hour passed and Taiga kept waiting.

Daiki didn’t show up.

The redhead checked for missed calls or messages, but there were none.  
He bit the inside of his cheek and tried to reason with himself that maybe Daiki had needed to go to class. Maybe he was just sick and wasn’t at school today.

When his work day ended and there was still no sign of Daiki, Taiga headed out to the street court they usually played at. Daiki wasn’t there either.  
Finally he gave in and dialed Daiki’s number, biting his lip as he waited for the teen to pick up.

“ _Yo_ ”, a familiar voice answered after a few rings, making Taiga smile just the slightest bit.  
“Hey”, he said, “You weren’t at school today?”  
“ _No, I was_ ”, Daiki answered, his tone bored and indifferent. Taiga frowned and shuffled his feet a little, not wanting to admit he was slightly hurt because it was Daiki who was talking to him like this.  
“ _Was there a reason you called?_ ”, Daiki then asked, sounding as if he had better things to do than waste his precious time on Taiga.

“I- ah, I was just wondering if you’re going to show up for a one-on-one today?”, Taiga asked then, confused by the cold treatment he was suddenly getting from Daiki.  
“ _Nah, I can’t today_ ”, was the curt reply.  
“Hey, what’s up with you today?”, Taiga finally asked, running a hand over his face, “You’re being kinda harsh, you know”

“ _Look, I understand you don’t want to hang out anymore, okay?_ ”, Daiki suddenly said, making Taiga even more confused, “ _You could’ve just said so though, you didn’t need to go making up excuses so you wouldn’t need to entertain me yesterday. I can see where I’m not wanted, so… I’m not gonna bother you anymore_ ”

Taiga was stunned into silence for a moment, before he let out a nearly relieved laugh.  
“Daiki, you’ve got it all wrong, okay?”, he said into the phone gently, “Look, can you just come down to the usual court we play at? I think we really need to talk”  
Another moment of silence ensued, but finally Daiki agreed and said he’d be there in fifteen minutes.

Taiga settled on shooting hoops while he waited, and thought about what he was going to say.  
Nervousness was bubbling in his chest more and more with every passing minute.  
What if he had misinterpreted things? What if all Daiki really wanted was sex?  
He shook his head to get rid of the thought. It couldn’t be like that, especially after all that time they spent together. Taiga was just being a worrywart over nothing.

Finally he could see Daiki’s tall form approaching and breathed in deeply to calm his nerves.  
“Hey”, he said when the teen was close enough to hear.  
“Hey”, Daiki answered, his gaze meeting Taiga’s, “So, you wanted to talk?”

Straight to business then.  
“Yeah. First I wanted to apologize for how I acted yesterday, okay?”, the redhead said and averted his gaze, “I just… realized something and it kind of made me panic for a while”  
Daiki cocked an eyebrow and silently urged Taiga to continue talking.

Taiga didn’t know what to say next. He shifted his weight from one leg to the other and kept his gaze averted.  
“Look, okay, this is going to be awkward as fuck, but”, Taiga started, “you’ve been trying to get with me pretty much ever since I first started working at Touou, and I’ve been brushing you off even though I really don’t mind the attention as much as I let on”

After a while of standing silent and thinking about what he should say next, Taiga was startled by a warm hand coming up to rest on his cheek. He snapped his gaze to look at Daiki, who was suddenly much closer than he was supposed to be.  
“Wha-“, Taiga’s question was cut off by warm lips over his own.

He froze for a second, but as Daiki’s lips continued coaxing him into co-operating, Taiga lifted one hand to rest on Daiki’s shoulder and kissed him back. Their lips moved together in a heated battle for a moment, Daiki’s tongue flicking over Taiga’s lips every once in a while.

Eventually Taiga had to pull away, his breath coming out in short gasps.  
Daiki’s hands hand made their way onto Taiga’s hips at some point, and Taiga was gripping onto the front of Daiki’s shirt.  
“I’m still not having sex with you before you graduate though”, Taiga informed Daiki after he caught his breath. The tan teen groaned, but for the time being he didn’t object. 

———-

That evening when they were at Taiga’s apartment again, both comfortably settled down on the couch, Daiki said, “Did you know most of the girls at school think you’re hot?”  
He was frowning, like this was something that had been bothering him for a long time.  
“Oh?”, Taiga answered, not really knowing what to answer to such a sentence.

He had noticed a few girls tended to blush when they came to see him, and the amount of injuries among girls seemed suspiciously high compared to the guys in school, but he had never dwelled on it.  
He’d had his mind occupied with how to deal with Daiki after all.

“Yeah, it’s actually because of them I decided to come to the infirmary that one day”, Daiki nodded, “I was getting really annoyed with the way they were practically drooling while talking about you”  
“Why are we talking about this?”, Taiga asked, not really interested in the subject. It’s not like he cared about what a few high school girls thought anyway.

“I don’t like to share what’s mine”, Daiki growled in his ear suddenly, making Taiga gasp and suppress a shiver.  
Daiki landed a kiss on Taiga’s neck, nibbling at the tender skin gently with his teeth, before latching on a sucking hard enough to ensure it’d leave a mark.

Taiga made a sound that neared a squeal and swatted Daiki away from him, “What are you doing?”  
Daiki grinned and looked at the spot he had indeed left a mark on, nodding with a smirk.  
“Well, at least now they can see you’re off limits”, he explained.

Taiga made an exasperated sound that turned into a laugh. His boyfriend was crazy. And kind of adorable.

And yeah, he wouldn’t mind being marked up from time to time if it meant Daiki wouldn’t get so jealous.  
“You are so stupid sometimes”, Taiga chuckled and leaned in for a kiss.

Daiki smirked victoriously as he claimed his boyfriend’s lips. Yeah, he _always_ got what he wanted in the end.


	11. Cry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Request: "Kagami says something mean during a fight and comforts crying Aomine afterwards"
> 
> Okay, so I changed it up a bit because I have a hard time imagining Kagami saying something really really mean even during a fight xD   
> Also, I have no idea how to write hurt/comfort or angst or anything sad really because I usually write fluff, so bear with me! This turned out a lot shorter than the previous fics, but anyway, enjoy :)

Taiga sighed and ran a hand through his hair, trying to calm himself down.

Getting into fights from time to time was inevitable when they both were as stubborn as they were, and he had known that when he first started dating Daiki in high school.   
What he hadn’t known, however, was how utterly nerve-wracking it would be.

The first few years together had been nothing short of amazing for them.   
Playing one-on-one whenever they felt like it, going on dates, Daiki staying over at his apartment more than he stayed at home.   
And okay, the sex was mind blowing too.

Sure they had gotten into more than a few fights here and there, but with them being completely smitten with each other, usually one of them apologized quickly enough.   
But after they graduated from high school and moved in together once college started, things began to change.

Apologies were not as easily muttered anymore, sometimes not at all.   
They would seemingly forget all about their fight after a while, go on living their life, but the heated words snapped at each other would eat at their minds because there was no closure to the fight like there used to be.   
They couldn’t be sure if the other had meant what they said or not, and the most hurtful words clung to mind even when they tried to forget.

A few times Taiga had tried asking Daiki about it, but when the only answer he received was a mocking scoff and ‘what kind of a stupid question is that?’, he stopped.   
He still didn’t know if Daiki meant what he said, but obviously there was no point in asking about it.

Things only got worse when they graduated from college and started working.

They were exhausted. There was no pretense of forgetting about their fights anymore.   
Each hurtful word said just got added into the pile of insults. Each insult spurred more fights between them.   
Sometimes they could go without speaking to each other for days, and it felt like they did nothing but fight anymore.

Taiga was so tired. All he wanted was to go back to when they were in high school and everything was perfect.   
He wanted to go back in time and see what went wrong with their relationship.

Daiki was currently sitting on the couch, his eyebrows drawn together and his lips set on a thin, unhappy line.   
He was staring at the TV, but his eyes were distant, like he wasn’t paying any attention to what was actually happening on the screen.

Taiga was standing next to the couch, his gaze lowered and teeth grinding together in a futile attempt to keep from snapping at Daiki again. He didn’t remember what had started the fight this time, but he was _tired_ and he didn’t know what to do anymore.

“I think we should break up”

The words tumbled out of his mouth before he even registered it. Surprised cerulean eyes snapped to look at him, wide and disbelieving.

Taiga opened his mouth a few times to say something, and his heart clenched in the most painful way as he realized he couldn’t take back those words. Because somewhere deep inside he had been thinking about it for a long time already.   
It would be best for them to go their separate ways.

“I- I think”, he said when Daiki just kept staring at him, “we’re not going to work out anymore, Daiki. All we do is fight and honestly I’m so tired of it. I can’t do this”  
A long silence engulfed them, only the noises from the TV reaching their ears. Taiga didn’t dare to look up, he didn’t want to see what kind of an expression Daiki was making.

Was he sad? Or angry? Maybe he was relieved.   
Taiga closed his eyes and breathed in. What the hell was he doing?

“I see”, Daiki voice was low, calm. Wrong.   
“If that’s what you want”, he said and stood up from the couch, “I’ll get my stuff and leave”  
Taiga’s eyes widened, but he still didn’t look at the tan male. Daiki wasn’t supposed to be so calm. He was supposed to be angry, cocky like he always was. He was supposed to come up with a snarky comeback and a few insults.

Taiga listened to Daiki’s footsteps as they disappeared somewhere in the general direction of their bedroom, and he didn’t know what to feel.

Being angry was his first instinct. Anger was something he had learned to associate with Daiki, but then he remembered it was his fault this time. He had been the one to tell Daiki he wanted to break up.   
Confusion was the second thing he felt. Why wasn’t he relieved? Sadness crashed down on him right after. Did their whole relationship really mean that little to Daiki? Was it insignificant enough for him to be able to just walk out without as much as a noise of protest?

And then, finally, came the overwhelming dread.

_What did he do?_

He didn’t want Daiki to leave. Of course he didn’t want Daiki to just walk out, he loved him.   
Sometimes it was hard to remember that in the midst of them screaming each other’s heads off, but he did love Daiki. He always had and he always would.

“Daiki!”, he called out, voice strangled. There was no answer, but Taiga knew Daiki was still in the apartment.   
There was no way he could’ve left without Taiga noticing, right?

He called out to Daiki again, but there was still no answer. Taiga took a few hesitant steps towards their bedroom, trying to listen to any sounds indicating Daiki was still there.   
Nothing. He didn’t hear Daiki moving around, packing his belongings, or even muttering to himself about how troublesome Taiga was like he often did after a fight.

A shaky hand found its way onto the doorknob, and Taiga opened the door silently. He peeked in, ruby eyes landing on the figure of his boyfriend sitting on their bed, his back to Taiga and his head in his hands, shoulders hunched and trembling just the slightest bit.

Just as Taiga was about to call out Daiki’s name again, he heard a ragged sob leave the man sitting in front of him. He jerked back, stunned into silence once again.   
Daiki was… crying? He had never seen Daiki cry before.

“Daiki”, he breathed out hesitantly, stepping closer to the man. Daiki stilled, but didn’t turn to look at Taiga.   
“Just… just give me a minute”, he said, voice hoarse, “I’ll be gone soon, okay? Just leave me alone for a moment”

Taiga bit his lip, a feeling of guilt building up in his chest. It was suffocating.   
“I didn’t mean it”, he said and walked over to where Daiki was sitting. His breath hitched as he laid eyes on the tear streaked face of his lover. Daiki’s eyes were red and buffy from crying, his lips swollen from Daiki having bit them, no doubt to keep quiet. He didn’t look at Taiga as he swept a hand over his eyes, but the tears didn’t stop falling.

“I’m… I’m sorry”, Taiga said, the words heavy and foreign on his lips. He knelt down in between Daiki’s legs and buried his face into Daiki’s shirt, arms snaking around the man’s waist.   
“I’m sorry”, he repeated, this time with more ease, “I didn’t mean it. I don’t want you to go”

Daiki wrapped his arms around Taiga’s shoulders and buried his face into the redhead’s hair, letting out another ragged breath.   
They sat there in each other’s arms until Daiki had stopped crying, and even after, just soaking in each other’s presence.

“I love you”, Daiki said, and Taiga hugged him tighter. It had been too long since he heard those three words.

Life wouldn’t be perfect for them for a long time yet, but they would try.

They would try and they would build back the trust and love for each other that had once been there for all world to see.


End file.
